Camp Mystic owners lose control of key bankruptcy decisions after deadly Hill Country floods

The Eastland family, which owns Camp Mystic, will no longer control key decisions for the camp as it works through bankruptcy and faces lawsuits in connection with the July 2025 deadly flood, according to court documents.

A federal judge signed an order Nov. 2 recognizing the appointment of two independent fiduciaries — Mark Andrews and retired Judge Craig A. Gargotta — to oversee key decisions at the camp.

The Eastland family voluntarily agreed to the arrangement rather than having a court-appointed trustee take over the entire operation, the document states.

The judge found that the Eastland family had conflicts of interest. Those conflicts centered on the lawsuits filed by families who lost daughters in the flood.

The document states the court made no finding that anyone in the Eastland family did anything wrong.

Andrews was appointed as independent manager of Camp Mystic, LLC, the document states. Gargotta was appointed as independent director of Natural Fountains Properties, Inc., the entity that owns the camp’s real estate.

The two independent fiduciaries now have exclusive control over how the camp handles the lawsuits, whether to sell the camp’s assets and how Camp Mystic responds to a pending Texas Rangers investigation.

The independent fiduciaries cannot be removed by the Eastland family. Only the court can remove them, and only for serious misconduct such as fraud or gross negligence.

The flood lawsuits, any sale of the camp’s property and the final bankruptcy plan all remain subject to court approval.

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