Back Creek Golf Course, under the company name Creek Course, LLC, filed a petition for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Sept. 25 in the District of Delaware United States Bankruptcy Court.
     Ronald A. Coruzzi, president, CEO and developer of Creek Course, LLC, stated in the petition’s accompanying paperwork that it is desirable and in the best interest of the company, its creditors and other interest parties to file the voluntary petition under the provisions of Chapter 11 of the bankruptcy code.
    Coruzzi filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition for the Saint Annes Club, LLC, of which he also is the president, CEO and developer, on Aug. 12. That case is listed as pending under the Sept. 25 petition.
    The Chapter 11 bankruptcy code states a debtor usually proposes a plan of reorganization to keep its business alive and pay creditors over time.
    The petition states Wilmington Savings Fund Society, FSB, filed a complaint against The Creek Course, LLC, on Sept. 11 in the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware.
    Chapter 11 bankruptcy is frequently referred to as “reorganization” bankruptcy, where the court presides over a business as it reorganizes. Chapter 11 places the debtor in possession in the position of a fiduciary and requires the debtor to perform all but the investigative functions and duties of a trustee.
    According to the petition, Back Creek has liabilities of $1 million to $10 million, 1 to 49 creditors and assets of $1 million to $10 million.
    The petition lists three creditors. The company owes $300 to Monzack Mersky McLaughlin, $97,337.65 to the New Castle County Treasury in property taxes and $2,550,481.45 to Signature Golf Management, of which Coruzzi is president, for loan and trade.
    Ciardi Ciardi & Astin, P.C., the Philadelphia-based company that is providing legal counsel to Coruzzi, did not return a call from The Middletown Transcript for comment. 
    The Back Creek Golf Course Web site, www.ba ckcreekgc.com, states it is Delaware’s No. 1 Public Golf Course, a credit the course received from Golfweek magazine in 2002.
    Back Creek encompasses an 18-hole public golf course and Hunt Cottage Restaurant & Bar and is situated among the Back Creek neighborhood along Choptank and Churchtown roads in Middletown.
    Dave Clendening, a resident of Back Creek and member of the course, said The Creek Course, LLC, will not be able to keep up the golf course now that Coruzzi has filed for bankruptcy.
    “What it means for us is they can’t afford to buy their grass seed or fertilizer. They can’t punch the greens the way they should for aeration. So the course will start deteriorating over time,” Clendening said. “You have to upkeep a golf course or it can go downhill real fast. That’s the problem. It’s everybody’s backyard.”
    He said he moved into Back Creek before the course was constructed.
    Clendening said the bankruptcies will affect the residents of both Back Creek and The Estates at Saint Annes.
    The Levels Course was supposed to be a 193-acre, 18-hole golf course that was designed to present superior and family-friendly play, but it is still under construction. It was supposed to open in 2006.
    The Levels Course was designed by Allen Liddicoat and 2003 U.S. Open winner Jim Furyk. Furyk’s father, Mike Furyk, served as the course’s consultant.
    Liddicot, who is listed as a designer and project manager for Signature Golf Management, also designed the Back Creek and Frog Hollow golf club communities in Middletown.
    Signature Golf Management lists an office that is located in The Legends at Frog Hollow neighborhood. The company manages The Legends golf course and the Pub Restaurant & Bar at Frog Hollow.