Grimes County judge rules in favor of buyers in Texas Renaissance Festival dispute

TODD MISSION, Texas (KBTX) - A Grimes County judge has issued a ruling in favor of a group of companies seeking to purchase the Texas Renaissance Festival, awarding more than $22.3 million in damages, $1 million in attorney fees, and granting specific performance of a disputed sales agreement. Additional costs and legal fees for appeals were also authorized.

Background

The civil case stems from a $60 million purchase agreement involving the festival’s grounds, assets, and nearby property. The plaintiffs—RW Lands, Inc., Texas Stargate, Inc., Royal Campground, Inc., and Texas RF, Inc.—allege festival founder George Coulam and two of his companies failed to deliver required closing documents for the agreements signed in April 2023.

According to the plaintiffs’ original petition, “Defendants provided none of these documents. Instead, Defendants have gone silent and ignored their obligations under all three agreements.”

“Plaintiffs respectfully ask that this Court offset any losses incurred by Plaintiffs resulting from Defendants’ late performance as to enforce the equities of the Parties and put Plaintiffs as nearly as possible in the position they would have occupied had the conveyance been made when required by the agreements,” the lawsuit states. “Specifically, Plaintiffs seek all consequential damages, including, but not limited to, any lost revenue resulting from Defendants’ delayed performance.”

What’s Next?

Legal experts say this dispute is far from over.

“In my judgment, this is far from over,” said Terrance Dill, a partner at West Webb Allbritton & Gentry in College Station. “I imagine that the attorneys representing both sides are getting ready for the appellate process.”

“It appears that we had a trial to the judge as opposed to a trial to the jury. That’s called a bench trial,” Dill explained. “The judge has issued a ruling on the bench trial, going in favor of the plaintiffs or the people that were seeking to buy the Renaissance Festival.”

Dill said the judge has now asked the plaintiffs’ attorney to draft the final judgment. Once signed, the ruling triggers a 30-day window for appeals.

“Either side has 30 days to file either an appeal up to the first level of appellate courts or what we call a motion for new trial,” shared Dill. “That would then extend your deadline to file an appeal.”

The lawsuit claims Coulam and his companies “went silent” and failed to meet closing obligations. The plaintiffs say they deposited $400,000 into escrow, planned to pay $11.6 million at closing, and signed a $36 million promissory note for the main festival property. An additional deal for adjacent land involved $2.9 million in cash and a $9 million note.

According to Dill, the ruling includes both the enforcement of the sale and a financial penalty for delay.

“It looks like the judge has found that the plaintiff is entitled to have the contract enforced,” Dill furthered. “Then the judge apparently also found that the defendant damaged the plaintiffs to the tune of about $22 million and some change.”

Dill said the ruling also outlines attorney fees on appeal, “The court granted the plaintiffs $1 million in past fees and then also granted three sets of fees in the future for mounting the appeals.”

Under Texas law, Dill told KBTX prevailing parties in contract disputes are generally entitled to legal costs at every level.

“To be efficient, what the courts will do is they not only grant the trial court [fees], which has already happened, but also the fees that they anticipate will incur upon appeal,” he said.

Attorney Dill says If the defendants want to avoid immediate enforcement of the judgment, they can post an appeal bond.

“To prevent that, the defense has the ability to post a bond that would keep everything in the status quo while the appeal is pending,” shared Dill. “If they didn’t post the bond and the plaintiffs collected, then they’d have the option of keeping the Renaissance Festival open, of course.”

Texas Renaissance Festival Responds

In a statement, the Texas Renaissance Festival said the upcoming season will continue as scheduled.

“Our commitment remains unchanged: to deliver a safe, vibrant, and memorable experience for the hundreds of thousands of guests who visit each year,” General Manager Jeffrey Baldwin added in a statement. “Festival operations are moving forward as planned for the 2025 season.”

The case is being heard in the 506th District Court of Grimes County. A final judgment had not yet been signed as of Wednesday.

Court Documents

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