A federal bankruptcy judge ruled Friday that wrongful death lawsuits against Camp Mystic may resume on Nov. 9, lifting a pause that was put on the claims after the camp's owners filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy relief in June.
More than a dozen families are suing the all-girls Christian summer camp and its owners, the Eastland family, after catastrophic flooding in July 2025 killed 25 campers and two counselors. One of the camp's owners and executive director, Dick Eastland, also died during the flooding.
Judge Christopher Lopez, a U.S. bankruptcy judge for the Southern District of Texas, said at the conclusion of a nearly 12 hour hearing that public interest supports the timely resolution of the wrongful death claims against the camp and its owners.
Allowing the cases to move forward, Lopez said, will also give all parties a better understanding of how much money the camp may be liable for as a result of the claims. No money, he said, can be paid out without permission from the bankruptcy court first.
It's unclear where the wrongful death lawsuits will be litigated. Shortly after the camp filed for bankruptcy, the cases were transferred from a Travis County district court to federal court. There are motions to move the cases from where they currently are in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas to the Southern District of Texas or back to Travis County.
Lopez is still considering who will take control of the camp's bankruptcy case. Chapter 11 bankruptcy typically allows businesses to continue operating while they reorganize their finances under court supervision. The Eastland family currently retains control of the business. Since filing for bankruptcy, they have hired a chief restructuring officer, Karen Nicolaou, to help them manage the case and the camp's finances.
The case's creditor committee, which is comprised of 13 families who lost their children in the flood, has asked for the appointment of a Chapter 11 trustee, a type of independent fiduciary, to manage the case. The committee argued this is the best course of action because of conflicts of interest created by the wrongful death claims against the Eastlands.
The U.S. Trustee, a federal official that oversees bankruptcy cases, has also asked Lopez for the chance to appoint a Chapter 11 trustee, or to convert the case to a Chapter 7 liquidation. A liquidation would mean a court-appointed trustee would sell the camp's property and assets to pay off creditors. The U.S. Trustee argued there's little chance of the camp reorganizing its finances under the management of the Eastland family.
The Eastlands, however, argued appointing a Chapter 11 trustee is an "extreme remedy." They have asked for the installation of two independent directors to oversee parts of the camp's finances: Craig Gargotta, a retired bankruptcy judge, and Mark Andrews, a lawyer and financial advisor.
During Friday's hearing, Lopez heard hours of testimony from Andrews and Nicolaou, the camp's chief restructuring officer, about the proposal, as well as the Eastland's recently filed business reorganization plan. The plan would see most of Camp Mystic and its affiliated companies' assets sold to one or more buyers and the proceeds distributed through the bankruptcy process.
Another hearing has been scheduled for Oct. 13. Lopez said he hopes to make a decision about who will take control of the camp's bankruptcy case by Oct. 19.
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