KERRVILLE, Texas – A Texas family is suing a Hill Country campground after two of their relatives died in the July 4 floods.
The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in Kerr County 216th District Court, records show. The plaintiffs are listed as Christie and David Floyd, who are representing the estate of Jayda Floyd.
The lawsuit appears to be one of the first filed in response to the floods.
Jayda Floyd, 22, and her fiancé, Bailey Martin, 23, were staying in their RV, parked at the HTR Texas Hill Country Resort on July 3, according to the lawsuit.
“It is believed that Jayda and Bailey were swept away along with their RV. ... They were not able to survive,” the lawsuit states.
The Floyd family is seeking temporary financial relief of over $1 million.
The couple served in law enforcement duties in Odessa. Jayda Floyd was a probation officer with the Ector County Juvenile Probation Department. Martin was an Odessa Police Department officer.
>> Odessa police officer killed in Hill Country floods, department says
The defendants in the petition are listed as The Davis Companies Inc., investors of the HTR TX Hill Country; HTR Kerrville, which owns the land of the resort; Blue Water Development, believed to be the company that operates the resort; and Ilana Callahan, the general manager of the campground.
According to the suit, the defendants continued to operate the resort despite awareness of the risk of flooding and allegedly did not warn guests of this risk.
“Defendants lacked proper plans, protocol, and equipment to respond to the flooding,” the lawsuit states. “Defendants failed to implement sufficient infrastructure improvements and maintenance to establish and maintain a safe means of egress from the property to safety.”
The suit stated that there were 11 Flash Flood Warnings from officials between July 2 to July 4, which “were ignored” by the defendants.
>> Flood timeline: Alerts, emergency response and pivotal moments in July 4 tragedy in the Hill Country
“Surviving guests of the HTR TX Hill Country Resort campground report that it was someone honking a car horn that awoke them, and they were barely able to escape with their lives as the water rose from ankle deep to waist deep in minutes,” the lawsuit alleges.
The defendants are accused of negligence for failing to establish storm and flood procedures, failing to provide proper equipment and training for their employees and other related offenses.
On Wednesday morning, a spokesperson for HTR TX Hill Country sent KSAT the following statement:
“Our hearts go out to Ms. Floyd’s family, her fiancé, and other loved ones – and to all of those who were impacted by the flooding that devastated the Kerrville community. As has been widely acknowledged by state and local authorities, meteorologists, and other experts, no one could have anticipated the unprecedented severity and rapid onset of the flooding that occurred and that exposed serious failures in public warning systems and emergency response protocols. While we have not yet been served with this complaint, we have reviewed a copy. We reject its fundamental thrust and will be prepared to vigorously defend ourselves in court.”
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