In the four separate lawsuits filed in Travis County District Court by families whose daughters were killed in the July 4 flooding of the Guadalupe River that swept through Camp Mystic, the defendants are arguing the cases should not proceed in Austin.
Instead, the cases should be litigated in Kerr County, where Camp Mystic sits and where “all relevant events in this lawsuit took place,” recently filed motions argue.
“The case should also be transferred to Kerr County for the convenience of the parties and, in particular, the third-party witnesses,” the motion reads. “Potential witnesses include camp staff members who reside in Kerr County and local Kerr County officials.”
“Furthermore, a site visit may 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.”
Camp Mystic — where 25 campers, two counselors and Director Richard Eastland died in the July 4 flood — sits about 120 miles west of the Travis County courthouse. The campgrounds are roughly 18 miles west of the Kerr County courthouse.
The parents of Ellen Getten, Linnie McCown, Abby Pohl, Margaret Sheedy, Mary Stevens, Greta Toranzo, Anna Bellows, Lila Bonner, Chloe Childress, Molly Dewitt, Katherine Ferruzzo, Lainey Landry, Blakely McCrory, Eloise “Lulu” Peck, Virginia Naylow, Hadley Hanna, Virginia Hollis, Jane Hunt, Lucy Dillon and Kellyanne Lytal have all filed suit.
The lawsuits bring claims for negligence, gross negligence, premises liability, negligence per se, negligent undertaking, intentional infliction of emotional distress and wrongful death and survival actions.
Plaintiff lawyer Mikal Watts, who told The Lawbook in an exclusive interview in October that he would be representing the family that owns Camp Mystic pro bono, and that they would be his first defense client, did not respond to an email seeking comment late Thursday afternoon.
“I’ve spent three months conducting a thorough investigation, and I believe that facts matter,” Watts said last month. “This was a flood of biblical proportions. This was preventable only one way — by deploying Texas tax money into modern river flood surge warning devices instead of the 70-year-old technology being used in Texas.”
“The sirens never went off. The warnings never came,” said Watts, who also owns property along the Guadalupe River about 12 miles from Camp Mystic. “We, as a state, failed those families. Those girls never had a chance.”
“There is no jury in America that will hold Camp Mystic responsible,” he said.
Defendants named in the four lawsuits filed by the families include: Camp Mystic, Natural Fountains Properties, Mystic Camps Family Partnership, Mystic Camps Management, George Albritton Eastland, the estate of Richard Eastland, Willetta Eastland, Edward Eastland, Mary Liz Eastland, Seaborn Stacy Eastland and William Neely Bonner III.
In the motion to transfer venue, the defendants argue Travis County was selected as the location to bring the litigation based on “incorrect allegations that Mystic Camps Family Partnership Ltd. and Mystic Camps Management LLC are proper parties to this lawsuit.”
“These entities are not proper parties to the suit. Neither entity has any role in ownership, possession, or control over Camp Mystic. Neither entity has any employees,” the motion argues. “These entities 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. In that regard, the facts giving rise to plaintiffs’ claims have no connection to Travis County. The catastrophic flood event giving rise to plaintiffs’ claims occurred in Kerr County. The principal office of the Camp operates in Kerr County.”
“All of the Eastlands resided at Camp Mystic, Kerr County, Texas, at the time of the July 4, 2025 flood.”
The defendants also separately filed original answers to the four lawsuits, subject to the motion to transfer venue. The filing alleges that the 10 billion gallons of water that fell in three hours preceding the fatal floods “is more than the amount of water that flows over Niagara Falls during the same time period.” The filings refer to the flooding that killed 135 people as “the most devastating flood known in the history of Kerr County.”
“Camp Mystic was not provided with an evacuation notification until well after the sudden swell and surge of water had already engulfed the camp and lives were lost,” the answer reads.
The defendants also pointed to a lack of “sirens, flood warning systems or floodwater monitoring systems that could have provided warnings of the surging waters moving toward Camp Mystic.”
“Despite recommendations and proposals for state-of-the-art warning systems, warning systems along the waterways were not provided. Along with other camp directors in the area, Dick Eastland — who died while trying to rescue campers from the raging floodwaters — advocated for such systems to be put in place.”
The lawyers representing the families in the four separate lawsuits are: Kurt Arnold, J. Kyle Findley, Kala F. Sellers and John G. Grinnan of Arnold & Itkin, Randy R. Howry and Sean E. Breen of Howry Breen & Herman, Jarom Tefteller of Tefteller Law, Ron Armstrong II of The Armstrong Firm, W. Mark Lanier, Sam E. Taylor II and Sara E. Abston of Lanier Law Firm and R. Paul Yetter, Justin P. Tschoepe, J. Reid Simpson and Shannon N. Smith of Yetter Coleman.
The defendants are represented by Mikal Watts of Watts Law Firm, Jeff Ray of Ray | Peña | McChristian, Thomas C. Wright, Jessica Z. Barger and Kenneth J. Fair of Wright Close Barger & Guzman, Lynn Castagna of Castagna Scott and Daniel C. Bitting of FBFK Law.
The case numbers are D-1-GN-25-010016; D-1-GN-25-009963; D-1-GN-25-009983 and D-1-GN-25-009976, in Travis County District Court.