Camp Mystic’s owners filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on June 24 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, citing over $10 million in debt. The filing pauses pending litigation tied to the July 4, 2025, flooding that killed 28 people.
The case now moves into bankruptcy court while families keep pursuing wrongful death claims outside the regular civil track. Camp Mystic LLC’s petition lists between 1,000 and 5,000 creditors, assets between $1 million and $10 million, and liabilities between $10 million and $50 million.
Kyle Findley on Camp Mystic
Kyle Findley of Arnold & Itkin LLP represents six families in the wrongful death lawsuit against the camp’s owners, the Eastland family. He said, “The bankruptcy filing is not accountability. It is simply a financial reorganization that could allow the same people and entities to remain in control of Camp Mystic while attempting to circumvent the justice of the Court. After 27 girls died, this filing is just another attempt to delay taking responsibility.”
Findley’s clients are among the families whose claims are now caught in the bankruptcy pause. The filing came near the flood anniversary, and the timing sharpened the fight over how the deaths will be handled in court.
Cecilia “Cile” Steward
Brad Beckworth, Christina Yarnell and Blair Townsend represent the family of Cecilia “Cile” Steward, who was 8 years old. They said, “Cile Steward was 8 years old. She was in Camp Mystic’s custody and care when she was killed on July 4, 2025. Her body has still not been recovered. A bankruptcy filing does not change what was promised to her, or what is owed to her family. We will never stop pursuing truth and accountability for Cile and the other precious girls the Eastlands killed on the Fourth of July.”
Sam Taylor of the Lanier Law Firm said, “I've already spoken with most, if not all of our clients this morning, and literally, this is just another slap in the face that the people that caused the deaths of their daughter are seeking to avoid accountability.”
Camp Mystic LLC
Court documents filed by Camp Mystic LLC name Edward Eastland as manager, and the company was represented by Dallas-based attorney Martin Sosland of Vartabedian Katz Hester & Haynes LLP. The petition designates the case as a complex Chapter 11, a label that can mean the court will handle more creditors and claims through a more structured process.
Camp Mystic Bankruptcy Filing Follows 28 Deaths and $10m Debt places the filing against the 2025 flood that killed 25 young campers, two 18-year-old counselors and Dick Eastland, the camp’s co-executive director. That structure now matters for families because the bankruptcy court will control the pace of the case while the wrongful death litigation remains paused.
The unresolved question is how the bankruptcy court will treat those claims, including the suits brought for the families of the 28 people killed in the flooding. For now, Camp Mystic’s owners are in bankruptcy court, and the families are left fighting for accountability under a case that has shifted out of the forum they first chose.
