1 articles · Updated · Houston Public Media · Jul 4
Summary
June's Chapter 11 filing by Camp Mystic has stalled nearly all families' negligence suits over the July 4, 2025 flood, which sought more than $1 million in damages and had been set for jury trials next year.
April testimony in open court had intensified scrutiny of the camp, with evidence of delayed evacuation, no written evacuation plan and staff moving canoes before evacuating girls as the Guadalupe River surged.
28 deaths at Camp Mystic — including 25 campers, many in the low-lying Twins and Bubble Inn cabins — made the camp one of the deadliest sites in floods that killed more than 130 people across the Texas Hill Country.
Families including Matthew Childress, whose 18-year-old daughter Chloe died as a counselor, have paired the legal fight with lobbying that helped Texas pass new camp-safety rules and inspired a similar law in Alabama.
With Camp Mystic bankrupt, what does justice look like for the families one year after the tragedy?
One year after the flood, are new safety laws saving kids or just closing down Texas summer camps?
Camp Mystic had hours of flood warnings. Why were canoes moved before the children were evacuated?
Camp Mystic Files Chapter 11 After 27 Children Die in Flood: Lawsuits Paused, Families Seek Accountability
Overview
On June 24, 2026, Camp Mystic filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, which immediately paused all ongoing wrongful death lawsuits from families of the 27 children and one camp owner who died in the July 2025 flood. This automatic stay means that claims for compensation will now be handled within the bankruptcy process, not in regular court. While Camp Mystic can keep operating as it tries to reorganize its finances and create a plan to repay creditors, if it fails to do so, the case could shift to Chapter 7 liquidation, where a trustee would sell the camp’s assets to pay creditors.