November 16, 2009 --Amelia Island Company, operator of the Amelia Island Plantation resort, has filed a petition to reorganize under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. But the resort continues to operate as usual as it goes through the bankruptcy process, company president Jack Healan said.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Paul Glenn issued an order Friday allowing the company to continue to operate the 1,350-acre resort while it reorganizes its finances.

Healan said the company is working on a reorganization plan in which a group of investors who own homes at the Plantation will make a bigger investment in the resort.

In court filings, the company said the resort business has been hit hard by the recession, and the Plantation has been suffering "a significant negative cash flow" since October 2008.

The company said it had to file for bankruptcy because it will not have sufficient cash to meet its payroll this Friday without access to a debtor-in-possession loan, a common financing facility for companies operating under Chapter 11.

The company said it is confident that business will rebound by 2011.

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