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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Feb
22
2018
Delaware Supreme Court Heightens the Review Standard for Discretionary Equity Awards to Directors Jones Walker LLP
Aug
18
2014
Delaware Supreme Court Finds Fee-Shifting Provisions in Bylaws to Be Facially Valid Vedder Price
May
15
2014
Delaware Supreme Court Finds Fee-Shifting Bylaw Permissible Hunton Andrews Kurth
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
Feb
16
2024
Delaware Supreme Court Enforces Forfeiture for Competition Provision in Partnership Agreement Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP
Mar
11
2021
Delaware Supreme Court Doles Out Landmark Choice-of-Law Decision in Dole Food Case Hunton Andrews Kurth
Dec
7
2013
Delaware Supreme Court Defines Unexhausted Insurance Policies as Property of Dissolved Corporations Katten
Feb
15
2012
Delaware Supreme Court Declines to Apply Iqbal-Twombly "Plausibility" Pleading Standard Bracewell LLP
Mar
18
2014
Delaware Supreme Court Confirms the Path to Business Judgment Review in Controlling Stockholder Transactions Bracewell LLP
Mar
19
2020
Delaware Supreme Court Confirms That Federal Forum Provision Is Facially Valid, Reversing Court of Chancery 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
Jan
19
2017
Delaware Supreme Court Confirms Dilution Claims Typically Are Derivative and Are Extinguished After Merger Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP
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
Dec
1
2015
Delaware Supreme Court Clarifies When Friendship Could Compromise Director’s Independence Vedder Price
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
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
Sep
14
2016
Delaware Supreme Court Clarifies New York’s Injury-in-Fact Trigger of Coverage for Asbestos Losses Squire Patton Boggs (US) LLP
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
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
Mar
22
2021
Delaware Supreme Court Applies Delaware Law Even When Insured Is Headquartered Elsewhere Bracewell LLP
Nov
19
2012
Delaware Supreme Court Alters Fiduciary Duty Landscape for LLCs Barnes & Thornburg LLP
Jul
20
2022
Delaware Supreme Court Allows Use of “Reliable” Hearsay to Support Books-and-Records Demand Proskauer Rose LLP
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
Sep
25
2023
Delaware Supreme Court Affirms that D&O Insurer Must Cover Settlement of Alleged False Claims Act Violations Hunton Andrews Kurth
Apr
26
2013
Delaware Supreme Court Affirms Preclusive Effect of Non-Delaware Dismissals and Rejects Irrebuttable Presumption That a Derivative Plaintiff Who Fails to Conduct a Section 220 Inspection Is an Inadequate Representative Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP
Jul
20
2020
Delaware Supreme Court Affirms Appraisal Award Using Corporation’s Unaffected Market Price As Fair Value Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP
Oct
11
2021
Delaware Supreme Court Adopts New Three-Prong Test for Demand Futility Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP
Oct
14
2019
Delaware Statutory Trusts And The California General Corporation Law Allen Matkins Leck Gamble Mallory & Natsis LLP
Jan
3
2019
Delaware State Court Holds That Medical Marijuana User May Proceed With Lawsuit Against Employer Jackson Lewis P.C.
Apr
6
2018
Delaware State Bar Association Council Releases Proposed Amendments to the Delaware General Corporation Law Katten
Jan
16
2019
Delaware Starts Unclaimed Property “Compliance Reviews” (Different from Audits) McDermott Will & Emery
Oct
3
2017
Delaware Special Litigation Committee Review “Could Stand A Good Tweaking” Allen Matkins Leck Gamble Mallory & Natsis LLP
Jul
22
2021
Delaware Set to Increase Minimum Wage to $15 by 2025 Epstein Becker & Green, P.C.
Jun
23
2015
Delaware Senate Passes Unclaimed Property Reform Bill McDermott Will & Emery
May
13
2015
Delaware Senate Passes Bill Prohibiting Bylaws on Fee Shifting Proskauer Rose LLP
 

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