Families of Camp Mystic attendees who lost their lives during a July 4 flood are suing the camp’s owners for negligence. On December 12, the defendants filed a motion to transfer the Travis County lawsuits to a Kerr County court, arguing that the camp’s location and all relevant events occurred in Kerr County.
The Motion and Venue Argument
The defendants’ attorneys presented a detailed venue-change request, stating that Travis County was an improper venue because Camp Mystic sits in Kerr County. They noted that all relevant events happened there and that potential witnesses-including camp staff who live in Kerr County and local Kerr County officials-would be more accessible. The motion also suggested that a site visit might be necessary so that the factfinder can see and appreciate the layout of the property and its elevations and the extent of the flood’s damage.
In the same filing, the defendants denied the plaintiffs’ claim that Mystic Camps Family Partnership, Ltd. and Mystic Camps Management, LLC had any employee, let alone decision-making authority, in Travis County on July 4, 2025, the date of the catastrophic flooding that sparked the lawsuit. While both businesses are registered in Travis County, the motion explained that they exist purely for estate planning purposes of Willetta Eastland and Richard Eastland as a means of passing on the legacy of their life’s work to their children.
A specific lawsuit pointed to Willetta and the two entities for establishing venue. According to the December 12 filing, neither she nor any other defendant were in Travis County at the time of the flood. Another defendant, Stacy Eastland-former director from 1998 to 2007-filed on December 5, arguing that he had not been involved with the camp since 2012 and that he does not live in Travis County, further supporting the case for transfer.
Defendants’ Position on Negligence
Natural Fountains Properties, the landowner of Camp Mystic, issued a separate response on Monday. President William Neely Bonner III’s attorney stated that the deaths were caused by a “1,000-year flood event,” not negligence. The response read: “The flood event underlying this lawsuit was an event not proximately caused by the negligence of any party to the occurrence.” It added that “Plaintiffs’ damages were the result of independent, intervening, superseding, or supervening factors, occurrences, or conditions that were not caused by Bonner.”
These statements are mirrored by the defendants’ motion, which insists that the flood was an unforeseen natural disaster and that no party’s negligence contributed to the tragic outcome.
Plaintiffs’ Counterarguments and Evidence
Attorneys for some of the plaintiffs provided a statement to KXAN on Friday. They emphasized the camp’s long-standing flood history, saying:
> “We are fully aware of the decades-long history of severe flooding in the area where Camp Mystic is located. We asserted those facts in the lawsuit we filed. In fact, Camp Mystic itself suffered multiple severe flooding events since the opening of the camp decades ago. There will be undisputed evidence at trial that Camp Mystic experienced flooding inside cabins. We will present evidence at trial of the dangerous conditions at Camp Mystic that were well known to the Eastlands based on this decades-long history of flooding,” the statement said in part.
> “The forensic hydrologist we have retained in this case has identified multiple serious errors and misrepresentations contained in the Camp Mystic Defendants’ responsive pleadings.”
In a supplemental filing responding to the December 12 motion, the plaintiffs’ attorneys cited flood-history data. They argue that all prior flooding events were below the elevation of Camp Mystic’s Twins and Bubble Inn cabins, and that the camp was not provided a proper evacuation notification until well after the camp had been engulfed by water.
Legal and Procedural Context
KXAN reached out to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for a response to the motion, seeking clarification on the agency’s role in the venue dispute. While FEMA’s reply was not included in the article, the request highlights the complexity of determining whether a natural disaster falls under federal or state jurisdiction.
The defendants’ motion, the plaintiffs’ counter-filings, and the landowner’s response illustrate the multi-layered legal battle that has begun over the July 4 flood. The outcome will hinge on whether the court accepts the venue change and how it interprets the negligence claims amid a “1,000-year flood event.”
Key Takeaways
- Defendants filed a motion on December 12 to move Travis County lawsuits to Kerr County, citing venue and lack of local staff presence.
- Natural Fountains Properties argues that the deaths were caused by an extraordinary flood, not negligence.
- Plaintiffs emphasize Camp Mystic’s decades-long flood history and plan to present evidence of dangerous conditions at trial.
The case remains pending, and its resolution will set an important precedent for how courts handle lawsuits arising from severe natural disasters.
Closing
The families of Camp Mystic victims continue to seek accountability, while the defendants maintain that the flood was an unforeseeable natural disaster. As the legal proceedings unfold, the courts will determine whether venue transfer is warranted and how negligence will be assessed in the wake of an unprecedented flood event.
