Delaware

Delaware is the first US-state, and was admitted for statehood on December 7, 1878. The state is among the smallest both by population and land-area mass, and it is divided into only three counties. The capital city, Dover is the second most populous in the state, falling behind Wilmington.

The state government of Delaware was put in place by the fourth and current constitution of the state which was adopted in 1897.  This document divided the government of the state into three branches: executive, judicial and legislative branches.

The Executive branch consists of the Governor and the Lieutenant Governor.  The Legislative Branch is the Delaware General Assembly, with a 41 seat House of Representatives and a Senate with 21 seats.  The assembly is based in Dover, with two-year terms and four-year terms, respectively.  A considerable power of the Assembly is to approve nominees appointed by the governor, and the governor gives a “state of the state” speech to the assembly each year.

The Judicial Branch consists of seven courts.  The Delaware Supreme Court is the state’s highest court, the Delaware Superior court handles trial cases of general jurisdiction and the Delaware Court of Common pleas has a limited jurisdiction of some civil and criminal matters.  The Family Court handles domestic and custody matters, and the Justice of the Peace Courts and Aldermen's Courts handle minor matters.  Additionally, the  the Third Circuit Court of Appeals has jurisdiction over Delaware.

The Delaware Court of Chancery is one of the few remaining chancery courts in the country, and it handles corporate disputes related to mergers & acquisitions, stockholder disputes, and board of directors and corporate officers.  This court uses the  Delaware General Corporation Law to inform its decisions, creating a business friendly environment for corporations. Many companies, including 60% of the companies traded on the New York Stock Exchange, are incorporated in Delaware. 

In addition to a diverse number of cases which go through the Court of Chancery, The National Law Review covers several other legal cases and disputes in the state. Tax matters, shareholder actions, bankruptcy disputes, litigation and appeals. Cases including online-driven ‘blockchain’ technologies, unclaimed property disputes, compensation history and employment law matters, and general information about administrative agencies and the government are all found on The National Law Review’s website.

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Sep
25
2023
Delaware Supreme Court Affirms that D&O Insurer Must Cover Settlement of Alleged False Claims Act Violations Hunton Andrews Kurth
Jul
29
2019
Delaware Supreme Court Allows Caremark Claim to Proceed Against Directors of Ice Cream Manufacturer Following Listeria Outbreak Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP
Jul
20
2022
Delaware Supreme Court Allows Use of “Reliable” Hearsay to Support Books-and-Records Demand Proskauer Rose LLP
Nov
19
2012
Delaware Supreme Court Alters Fiduciary Duty Landscape for LLCs Barnes & Thornburg LLP
Mar
22
2021
Delaware Supreme Court Applies Delaware Law Even When Insured Is Headquartered Elsewhere Bracewell LLP
Sep
18
2019
Delaware Supreme Court Calculates Aruba’s Fair Value In An Appraisal Using Deal Price Minus Synergies, Reversing Lower Court’s 30-day Stock Price Calculation K&L Gates
Nov
3
2010
Delaware Supreme Court Clarifies Law Regarding Standing of Plaintiff-Shareholders to Bring a Post-Merger Double Derivative Action Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP
Sep
14
2016
Delaware Supreme Court Clarifies New York’s Injury-in-Fact Trigger of Coverage for Asbestos Losses Squire Patton Boggs (US) LLP
Dec
12
2011
Delaware Supreme Court Clarifies Scope of Relief a Shareholder is Entitled For Inspection of Corporate Books And Records Pursuant To A Section 220 Demand Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP
Oct
17
2011
Delaware Supreme Court Clarifies When a Series of Dispositions will not Trigger an "All or Substantially All" Indenture Covenant Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP
Dec
1
2015
Delaware Supreme Court Clarifies When Friendship Could Compromise Director’s Independence Vedder Price
Jan
6
2015
Delaware Supreme Court Confirms Chancery Court’s Broad Authority to Impose Use Restrictions on Information Obtained From Section 220 Books and Records Inspections Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP
Jan
19
2017
Delaware Supreme Court Confirms Dilution Claims Typically Are Derivative and Are Extinguished After Merger Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP
Jan
29
2018
Delaware Supreme Court Confirms Preclusive Effect of Dismissal of Derivative Actions Based on Lack of Demand Futility Proskauer Rose LLP
Mar
19
2020
Delaware Supreme Court Confirms That Federal Forum Provision Is Facially Valid, Reversing Court of Chancery Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP
Mar
18
2014
Delaware Supreme Court Confirms the Path to Business Judgment Review in Controlling Stockholder Transactions Bracewell LLP
Feb
15
2012
Delaware Supreme Court Declines to Apply Iqbal-Twombly "Plausibility" Pleading Standard Bracewell LLP
Dec
7
2013
Delaware Supreme Court Defines Unexhausted Insurance Policies as Property of Dissolved Corporations Katten
Mar
11
2021
Delaware Supreme Court Doles Out Landmark Choice-of-Law Decision in Dole Food Case Hunton Andrews Kurth
Feb
16
2024
Delaware Supreme Court Enforces Forfeiture for Competition Provision in Partnership Agreement Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP
Jan
24
2023
Delaware Supreme Court Enforces Partnership Agreement’s Unambiguous Exculpation Provision Waiving Fiduciary Duties and Presuming Good Faith When Relying on Advice of Counsel in Reversing $690 Million Damages Award to Minority Investors of Boardwalk Pipeli Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP
May
15
2014
Delaware Supreme Court Finds Fee-Shifting Bylaw Permissible Hunton Andrews Kurth
Aug
18
2014
Delaware Supreme Court Finds Fee-Shifting Provisions in Bylaws to Be Facially Valid Vedder Price
Feb
22
2018
Delaware Supreme Court Heightens the Review Standard for Discretionary Equity Awards to Directors Jones Walker LLP
May
29
2020
Delaware Supreme Court Holds Federal Forum Provisions Valid Barnes & Thornburg LLP
Dec
31
2013
Delaware Supreme Court Holds Liability of Corporation May Still Exist Following Dissolution McBrayer, McGinnis, Leslie and Kirkland, PLLC
Aug
12
2022
Delaware Supreme Court Holds Novel Pre-Closing Dividend Transaction Structure Does Not Thwart Appraisal Remedy Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP
Dec
12
2013
Delaware Supreme Court Holds Receiver is Required to Defend Lawsuits After a Corporation is Wound-Up; Finds No Generally Applicable Statute of Limitation for Claims Against a Dissolved Corporation Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP
May
19
2015
Delaware Supreme Court Holds That a Stockholder Plaintiff Must Plead a Non-Exculpated Claim to Avoid Section 102(b)(7)-Based Dismissal When Seeking Damages From Independent and Disinterested Directors Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP
Dec
30
2014
Delaware Supreme Court Holds That Court of Chancery Can Restrict Forum Where Books and Records Can Be Used Mintz
Oct
1
2021
Delaware Supreme Court Holds that Equity Dilution and Expropriation Claims May Only Be Brought Derivatively, Overruling Prior Precedent Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP
Jul
8
2011
Delaware Supreme Court Holds That Insider Trading Claims Alleging Misuse of Confidential Corporate Information Need Not Show Injury To the Corporation Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP
May
29
2015
Delaware Supreme Court Holds That Plaintiffs Must Specifically Plead Non-Exculpated Claims Against Disinterested Directors in Transaction Under Entire Fairness Review to Survive Motion to Dismiss Katten
Jul
9
2021
Delaware Supreme Court Holds That Surviving “Entire Fairness” Review is Not Conclusive of a Breach of Fiduciary Duty Claim Where Directors Acted Inequitably Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP
Jul
6
2015
Delaware Supreme Court Holds Tooley Direct vs. Derivative Rule Is No Bar to Parent Corporation’s Contract Claim Proskauer Rose LLP
 

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