Texas Flood Lawsuit: Camp Mystic Wrongful Death Cases

Families of children and counselors who died in the July 4, 2025, Guadalupe River flood have brought five Camp Mystic wrongful death lawsuits in Travis County, Texas, against the camp’s operating entities and members of the Eastland family, alleging the camp housed children in flood-prone cabins, had no real evacuation plan, and delayed response after severe-weather warnings. As of mid-2026, no case has gone to trial and no settlements have been announced. A dispute over whether the claims must go to private arbitration is pending before Judge Maya Guerra Gamble, and jury trials are tentatively scheduled for 2027 if the cases stay in court.¹

Twenty-five campers, two teenage counselors, and camp owner Richard “Dick” Eastland died in the flash flood. An eighth victim from the camp, 8-year-old Cecilia “Cile” Steward, has never been recovered and is presumed dead.²³

Who Is Suing and Who Is Being Sued

The first three suits were filed on November 10, 2025, in Travis County District Court. A multifamily action was brought on behalf of campers Anna Margaret Bellows, Lila Bonner, Molly DeWitt, Lainey Landry, and Blakely McCrory, along with counselors Chloe Childress and Katherine Ferruzzo. The parents of 8-year-old Eloise “Lulu” Peck filed separately, as did Douglas Getten, father of camper Ellen Getten.⁴ In February 2026, Will and CiCi Steward, parents of Cile Steward, filed the fifth wrongful death suit.² Together, the five actions represent more than a dozen families.⁵

The named defendants include Camp Mystic, LLC; Natural Fountains Properties, Inc.; Mystic Camps Family Partnership, LTD.; Mystic Camps Management, LLC; and individual members of the Eastland family. After Dick Eastland’s death in the flood, his sons Edward and Britt Eastland and Edward’s wife Mary Liz Eastland became the camp’s primary operators.⁶ William Neely Bonner III, the president of Natural Fountains Properties (the entity that owns the land), is also a named defendant.⁷ Plaintiffs allege the defendants jointly operated the camp and should be held jointly and severally liable.⁸

The Getten lawsuit, docketed as Douglas Getten, et al. v. Natural Fountains Properties Inc., et al. (Cause No. D-1-GN-25-009976), initially named Seaborn Stacy Eastland, a minority shareholder in Natural Fountains, as a co-defendant. He was later dismissed after showing he had no management role or ownership interest in the camp for more than a decade before the flood, having transferred his shares in 2012.⁹ The Getten suit also seeks to pierce the corporate veil, alleging the split between Natural Fountains Properties (land) and Camp Mystic, LLC (operations) was structured to shield assets from liability.⁷

What the Families Allege

The lawsuits assert gross negligence and recklessness. Central claims are that camp leadership knowingly housed children in cabins located in flood-prone areas to avoid the cost of relocating them, that the camp operated under a “never evacuate” policy directing counselors to keep children in cabins during flooding, and that leaders delayed evacuation even after receiving severe-weather alerts.¹⁰ The Peck family’s petition alleges the defendants knew of the camp’s flood zone location, the county’s history of flash flooding, and prior flood events on the property.⁴

The factual record cited by plaintiffs includes the timeline of the night of the flood. Dick Eastland received a National Weather Service alert at 1:14 a.m. warning of “life threatening flash flooding,” but evacuation did not begin until roughly 2:30 a.m., after he first opted to “assess the situation.” Some counselors were told to stay in their cabins even as water was rising around 2 a.m. Staff evacuated only five of the 11 cabins in the low-lying area known as “the flats.”¹¹¹² The first 911 call from Camp Mystic came at 3:57 a.m.¹³

Testimony during April 2026 hearings sharpened the case. Camp director Edward Eastland admitted under oath that Camp Mystic did not have a written evacuation plan, despite a state requirement to have one, and testified, “I wish we never had camp that summer.”¹⁴ Mary Liz Eastland, the camp’s chief medical officer, testified that rushing water kept her from reaching campers’ cabins and that she evacuated to higher ground with her own four children while other campers remained trapped. When a plaintiff’s attorney asked whether she had “abandoned” Cile Steward, she answered, “yes.” She also said she had not attempted to use the camp’s PA system during the flood.¹⁵ In separate testimony, the Eastlands acknowledged they had failed to warn campers and counselors of rising floodwaters and weather warnings before the cabins were overwhelmed.¹⁶

Camp Mystic’s attorneys have disputed several of the allegations, arguing the surge of floodwaters was “unprecedented” and that no adequate warning system existed in the area. The defense has also pointed to Kerr County officials’ refusal to fund an outdoor siren system as a contributing factor.¹⁰¹⁷

The Arbitration Fight

The most immediate question in the litigation is whether the cases stay in open court at all. In March 2026, Camp Mystic filed motions to compel binding arbitration in all five wrongful death cases, arguing that enrollment agreements signed by families contained arbitration clauses. The camp withdrew those initial motions and filed amended versions only hours before a scheduled May 13, 2026, hearing, drawing criticism from Judge Gamble.¹ Plaintiffs’ attorneys sought sanctions and asked the judge to strike the amended requests, accusing the camp of “bad-faith litigation conduct” and “manipulative maneuvers,” and arguing the camp had waived arbitration by litigating in open court for months.⁵

At a June 10, 2026, hearing, both sides argued the point. Judge Gamble did not rule immediately, saying she would issue a decision “as soon as possible.”¹⁸ A status hearing was set for July 15, 2026.¹⁹ If arbitration is denied, jury trials for all five cases are currently scheduled for 2027.¹

The Evidence Preservation Injunction

On March 4, 2026, Judge Gamble of the 459th State District Court in Austin issued a temporary injunction barring Camp Mystic from altering or remodeling any structure where campers were housed during the flood. The old Guadalupe grounds were sealed off, including the commissary, recreation hall, and main office. The stated purpose was to “preserve the status quo and protect material evidence.” The judge declined at that point to fully shut down the camp, allowing construction only outside the Guadalupe grounds. The Eastland family appealed.²⁰¹⁶

In April 2026, after three days of testimony, Judge Gamble reinforced the order, ruling that the flood-affected land and cabins must remain “untouched” and that the property could not be used as a camp until some future date. Certain staff were permitted to reside in a structure called the “Sugar Shack.”¹⁴

A Separate Federal Lawsuit Against Texas Officials

A different case, filed February 23, 2026, is worth flagging so it isn’t confused with the wrongful death suits. Families of nine victims sued the Texas Department of State Health Services and six of its officials, including Commissioner Dr. Jennifer Shuford and the camp’s DSHS inspector, Maricela Zamarripa, in U.S. District Court in Austin. That complaint alleges DSHS violated the victims’ constitutional rights to life and bodily integrity by licensing Camp Mystic without a required evacuation plan and by adopting a policy of granting licenses to any camp with some form of “emergency plan,” regardless of whether it included evacuation procedures.¹²²¹ DSHS Deputy Commissioner Timothy Stevenson reportedly testified that the agency confirmed emergency plans existed but did not verify they included evacuation components.²² Camp Mystic itself is not a defendant in that federal action. DSHS declined to comment on the pending litigation.

Criminal Investigation and Camp Licensing

The civil lawsuits are proceeding alongside, but separately from, a criminal investigation. As of April 2026, the Texas Rangers had joined DSHS in what officials described as a “criminal investigation” into Camp Mystic. No charges have been filed or formally recommended, and officials have not publicly disclosed who might be charged or with what.²³

DSHS has received more than 600 complaints regarding the 2025 season. The agency issued a letter to Camp Mystic listing deficiencies that would need to be resolved before any license could be granted, and on April 30, 2026, the camp withdrew its license application for the summer 2026 season, foreclosing any reopening that year.¹⁶¹⁴

What Happens Next

Camp Mystic remains closed. The five wrongful death lawsuits are pending in Travis County, and Judge Gamble’s ruling on whether to send them to arbitration is still outstanding. If the cases stay in court, jury trials are scheduled for 2027. The federal lawsuit against DSHS officials is pending separately in U.S. District Court, and the Texas Rangers’ criminal investigation remains open with no charges filed. Cile Steward has not been found.

1
KUT. Camp Mystic Lawsuits Arbitration Texas Floods
2
NBC News. Parents of Still Missing Camp Mystic Flooding Victim Sue Camp Owners
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PBS NewsHour. Camp Mystic Appealed to Remove Buildings From FEMA’s 100-Year Flood Map, Records Show
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ABC News. Families of Camp Mystic Campers and Counselors Who Died in Texas Flood
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Houston Public Media. Camp Mystic Lawsuits Arbitration Texas Floods
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CNN. Camp Mystic Texas Legislature Hearing
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Kerr County Lead. Lawsuits Filed on Behalf of 8 Camp Mystic Victims Allege Negligence, Stay in Cabins Policy
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ALM Assets. Plaintiffs First Amended Petition
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San Antonio Express-News. Stacy Eastland Dismissed From Lawsuit
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CNN. Camp Mystic Texas Flooding Lawsuits
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Washington Post. Camp Mystic Alerts Texas Floods
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U.S. News & World Report. Camp Mystic Parents Sue State Accusing Texas Officials of Not Enforcing Evacuation Plan Requirement
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Texas Tribune. Texas July 4 Flood Camp Mystic Kerr County Text Messages
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Houston Public Media. Judge Expected to Order Camp Mystic to Preserve Damaged Cabins as Planned Reopening Approaches
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Fox 7 Austin. Camp Mystic Hearing Block Reopening Day 2
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CNN. Camp Mystic Decision Flood Construction
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Texas Public Radio. New Details About Camp Mystic Flood Response Could Play Role in Wrongful Death Lawsuits
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San Antonio Express-News. Camp Mystic Families Ask Judge
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WGME. Camp Mystic Parents Await Ruling on Whether Lawsuit Trial Will Continue Publicly or Not
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NBC News. Judge Declines to Close Camp Mystic, Bars Construction on Campus Hit by Flooding
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NBC News. Camp Mystic Flooding Victims Sue Texas for Allegedly Not Enforcing Evacuation Plan
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Spectrum News. Camp Mystic Parents Sue for Not Enforcing Evacuation Plan
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KSAT. Texas Rangers Join Criminal Investigation Into Camp Mystic Neglect Allegations