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Judge appoints special masters to oversee 2025 Texas Renaissance Festival
The legal tangles related to the Texas Renaissance Festival will continue throughout the season this fall, but a Grimes County judge has appointed special masters to run the fair as the matter is debated in the court.
While the festival will proceed as scheduled (find a full roster of events here), the judge overseeing the case is making sure everything is run fairly. On Friday, August 22, Grimes County Judge Gary W. Chaney entered the final judgment over the sale of the festival for $15 million. The late owner George Coulam had attempted to sell the festival in 2023, but ultimately backed out of the deal, a fiasco chronicled in the HBO docuseries Ren FaireRen Faire. The prospective buyer, real estate investor Meril Rivard, sued for breach of contract. The court found in favor of Rivard, forcing the sale.
However, before the sale could be completed, Coulam died by suicide in May, throwing the matter into further confusion. Though the current ownership isn't known for sure, Coulam's former groundskeeper and artistic partner, Jose "Jesse" Trejo, is named in Grimes County court documents related to the estate.
With the judgment in, the current owners have 30 days to ask for a new trial and 90 days to file an appeal. That window encompasses the entire 2025 Texas Renaissance Festival season, leading many to wonder who will be in charge as the October 11 opening day approaches. Especially as the legal fight appears far from over.
"They have indicated they are going to appeal," Anthony LaPorte, lead counsel for plaintiffs, tells CultureMap.
It's unknown why the current owner is appealing the sale, but the punitive damages against Coulam and his associated companies could be a factor. While the current owner would get $15 million for the festival, the judgment also assigns penalties related to the loss of revenue of the 2023 and 2024 seasons totally $22 million in addition to lawyer fees.
In the meantime, Judge Chaney appointed two special masters to head the festival this season. They are Huntsville personal injury lawyer J. Hans Barcus and Houston litigator David A. Fettner. They will ensure there is no vacuum at the top when it comes to handling vendor complaints, bills, police interactions, and anything else that may happen at the Texas Renaissance Festival.
"One of the issues in the judgment was 'how are we going to run this festival if we’re in this netherwold of appeal?'" explains LaPorte. "The court entered an order that appointed co-special masters to oversee the festival, review the financials, to make sure no one is being treated unfairly. If we buy a festival, we want it to be good and functional, and if they win, they want to make sure it was run properly. Hopefully, it will calm the waters."
