SAN ANTONIO – Camp Mystic is asking a judge to expand bankruptcy protections to individual members of the Eastland family as the camp faces multiple lawsuits tied to a flood that killed 25 campers, two counselors and camp director Dick Eastland.
In court filings this week, attorneys for Camp Mystic requested that legal protections currently shielding the camp also apply to members of the Eastland family, the camp’s owners. Camp Mystic filed for bankruptcy in June, triggering an automatic pause on lawsuits against the camp.
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Lawyers for the camp argue that allowing the cases to proceed against individual family members could drain insurance coverage and make it harder for the camp to reach a resolution with the families.
“I understand there might be some attempt to protect those non-debtors during the course of the bankruptcy from any claims, any pending litigation, you know, and trying to obtain or release a liability for them. I doubt they’ll be successful in that regard,” one speaker said in a recorded statement included in the broadcast.
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Members of the Eastland family have been named in flooding lawsuits. They were in charge the night of the deadly flooding on July 4 of last year.
A state investigation found the Eastlands were not prepared for the flood, saying the camp essentially had no plan that night. In a recorded statement included in the broadcast, one speaker said, “Our count is that there were at least 39 adults, excluding the cabin counselors, who were not engaged in assisting the evacuation of campers.” Another recorded statement added, “There was simply a tragic failure of preparation.”