Camp Mystic has asked a Houston bankruptcy court to approve a court-supervised auction of its Kerr County property as wrongful-death lawsuits stemming from last year’s catastrophic Guadalupe River flooding continue.
The Chapter 11 filing calls for roughly 749 acres near Hunt along the Guadalupe River’s south fork to be sold, along with most of Camp Mystic’s remaining assets. It says a group supported by camp families and former campers is expected to submit the initial bid, but does not name the group or provide an amount.
The sale would require approval from U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher M. Lopez.
Camp Hopes To Preserve its Mission
The bankruptcy filing does not require a buyer to continue operating the property as a summer camp. Camp Mystic said, however, that it would prefer a purchaser who would “maintain the historic mission” of the camp.
A new owner would have to obtain a youth camp license from the Texas Department of State Health Services in order to reopen the facility. The camp did not operate during the 2026 summer season after its licensing process stalled.
Abigail Willie, an assistant professor of law at St. Mary’s University, described the request to favor a buyer committed to continuing the camp as unusual in a bankruptcy auction.
“The standard for the winning bid price in a bankruptcy auction is generally understood to be who brings the most money to the table,” Willie said, Per KSAT. “The question is never who does the debtor want to sell it to? That’s not relevant.”
Sale Would Fund Creditor Claims
Under the proposed plan, proceeds from the sale would be placed into a trust and distributed to creditors.
A substantial portion of the available funds could ultimately go toward claims filed by parents whose children died in the flooding, according to the court filings.
Those families must first pursue wrongful-death claims in state court, where judgments would determine how much Camp Mystic owes. Amounts exceeding the camp’s insurance coverage would then be paid from available funds according to the size of individual claims.
The bankruptcy plan would send the wrongful-death cases back toward trial and would not release members of the Eastland family, which owns Camp Mystic and affiliated companies, from those lawsuits.
Bankruptcy Follows Deadly 2025 Flood
Camp Mystic and affiliated Eastland family companies, including land-holding company Natural Fountains Properties, filed for Chapter 11 protection in the Southern District of Texas on June 24.
The bankruptcy followed the July 4, 2025, flooding along the Guadalupe River that devastated parts of the Texas Hill Country. Twenty-five campers and two counselors at Camp Mystic died in the disaster.
The flooding prompted numerous wrongful-death lawsuits. The bankruptcy filing temporarily halted the state-court litigation.
Camp Mystic’s proposed reorganization plan now seeks to move the legal claims forward while providing a process for selling the property and distributing proceeds to creditors.
Auction Awaits Court Approval
Creditors have previously pressed for the appointment of an independent trustee. Camp Mystic’s owners have argued that a court-supervised sale offers a better opportunity to preserve the camp’s historic mission than a rapid sale of the property.
The proposed auction would not guarantee that the property remains a summer camp. Any buyer would have to satisfy state licensing requirements before operating a youth camp there.
For now, the proposed sale remains subject to approval by the bankruptcy court, while the wrongful-death litigation continues to work its way through state court.
Provided by Dallas Express
