They paid thousands of dollars for lifetime camping at an Oregon RV resort. Then the property was sold, and the new owner refused to honor their memberships.
Seventy-one campers fought back. Nine years later, the resort has reportedly been transferred to a trust created for the group, putting the people who lost their camping privileges in control of the property.
These memberships came with real benefits
The members bought 39 lifetime camping contracts at Osprey Point RV Resort in Lakeside, Oregon, between 1999 and 2016.
Most paid at least $5,995 upfront, plus annual dues of about $325. In return, they could camp for free for about 36 weeks each year, including utilities, and pay reduced rates during the remaining weeks.
Some contracts included frozen annual dues, discounted storage and boat moorage, family privileges, and the ability to transfer the membership. A few people paid extra for specific campsites, including waterfront spots.
These were long-term arrangements for people who returned year after year. Several members spent much of the year at Osprey Point, while some lived there full time. Fifty-six of the 71 members involved in the case were at least 65 years old.
The Oregon Court of Appeals’ account of the case shows that the memberships varied, but they all provided far more than an occasional camping discount.
The resort was sold, and everything changed
Barnett Resorts LLC, owned by Chris and Stefani Barnett, purchased the property, some personal property, and the Osprey Point business name on April 28, 2017. The sale price was $1.995 million.
The membership contracts were not listed as recorded claims against the property in the closing documents. However, evidence presented at trial showed the buyers knew the memberships existed before closing. They had received sales materials mentioning the contracts, asked for information about them, and reviewed the agreements.
Less than a month after the sale, resort employees were instructed to stop accepting free reservations from existing members. Campers could still stay, but they would have to pay the regular nightly rate.
On June 20, 2017, Barnett Resorts sent the members a letter explaining that it had purchased the resort, not the memberships. The company planned to start fresh as a regular nightly RV park and said honoring contracts sold by the previous owner was not financially feasible.
For people who had paid thousands of dollars for lifetime access, their memberships suddenly had little practical value.
The campers refused to walk away
The members sued in April 2019.
At trial, a jury found that the membership contracts remained binding on Barnett Resorts. The jury awarded the group $500,000 for breach of contract.
The older members also won $900,000 for financial elder abuse. Oregon law required the court to triple that portion of the award to $2.7 million, bringing the original judgment against Barnett Resorts to $3.2 million.
The company appealed, and for a time, most of that award disappeared. The Oregon Court of Appeals upheld the $500,000 contract verdict but threw out the elder-abuse portion.
The members continued fighting.
In May 2025, the Oregon Supreme Court restored the elder-abuse judgment and upheld the trial court’s decision. The court found enough evidence for the jury to conclude that Barnett Resorts wrongfully took away older members’ rights to use the campground.
Nine years later, the campers took control
The newest turn came on October 9, 2026.
The Grants Pass Tribune reported that a Coos County judge ordered Barnett Resorts to transfer Osprey Point and its remaining assets to the Tenmile Lake Osprey Point RV Resort Trust. The trust’s beneficiaries are the 71 campers.
Rather than dividing the resort among the 71 plaintiffs, the property was transferred to a trust created for their benefit. The trust holds title to the entire resort, while its trustees oversee the property on the beneficiaries’ behalf.
The trust also says the amount owed has climbed above $5 million after interest and other costs. That figure comes from the trust and has not been confirmed through a publicly available copy of the latest court order.
The new trustees say they want to improve customer service and bring back the community events that were once part of the resort. Their plans include car shows, holiday celebrations, weddings, and other gatherings.
Osprey Point remains open to the public. The resort’s website is accepting reservations and currently advertises campsites starting at $55 per night.
Part of the case is still unfinished
The multimillion-dollar judgment was entered against Barnett Resorts LLC, the company owned and managed by Chris and Stefani Barnett.
A separate Oregon Supreme Court decision from 2023 allowed the members to continue pursuing an elder-abuse claim against the couple individually. The court sent that issue back for further proceedings without deciding their personal liability.
Local reporting says that portion of the case could reach a jury in 2027.
The resort’s longer-term future also remains unclear. A Marcus & Millichap listing still advertises Osprey Point for sale at $6 million. The listing may not have been updated after the transfer, or the new trust may still be open to selling the property. Neither the trust nor the brokerage has publicly explained its current status.
For the 71 campers, the result is already extraordinary. They paid for lifetime access, lost it after the resort changed hands, and spent nine years trying to get it back.
They set out to recover their camping rights. They ended up controlling the campground.
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