Delaware Court of Chancery

The Court's jurisdiction is a hybrid of constitutional provisions, statutes, and case law.

According to the Delaware Judicial Information Center

The Court of Chancery has jurisdiction to hear and determine all matters and causes in equity. The general equity jurisdiction of the Court is measured in terms of the general equity jurisdiction of the High Court of Chancery of Great Britain as it existed prior to the separation of the American colonies. The General Assembly may confer upon the Court of Chancery additional statutory jurisdiction. In today's practice, the litigation in the Court of Chancery consists largely of corporate matters, trusts, estates, and other fiduciary matters, disputes involving the purchase and sale of land, questions of title to real estate, and commercial and contractual matters in general. When issues of fact to be tried by a jury arise, the Court of Chancery may order such facts to trial by issues at the Bar of the Superior Court of Delaware. (10 Del. C., 369).[1]

Article IV, Section 10 of the Delaware Constitution establishes the Court and provides that it "shall have all the jurisdiction and powers vested by the laws of this State in the Court of Chancery."[2] The Court has one Chancellor, who is the chief judicial officer of the Court, and four Vice Chancellors. It also has two Masters in Chancery, who are assigned by the Chancellor and Vice Chancellors to assist in matters as needed.

The Court sits without a jury. All issues of fact are determined by the presiding Chancellor or Vice Chancellor. The Court has the discretion to appoint an advisory jury if it so desires, but this power is practically never exercised.

The history of the Court of Chancery stems back to the English common law system, in which separate courts were established to hear law and equity matters. English law courts included the Court of King's Bench (or Queen's Bench when the monarch was female), the Court of Common Pleas, and the Court of the Exchequer. The sole English court of equity was the Court of Chancery.

Along with the remainder of the original Thirteen Colonies, Delaware imported the English concept of common law. This included establishing a separate Court of Chancery. As the legal system evolved in England, the English Court of Chancery was eventually abolished by the Judicature Act 1873-75 and its powers merged into what was then called 'The Supreme Court of Judicature' (comprising the High Court and the Court of Appeal) which exercised jurisdiction in both common law and equity. This was prompted in part by similar reforms which had taken place elsewhere, notably the abolition of the New York Court of Chancery in 1847. Most American jurisdictions followed the reforms in New York and England.

In its first Constitution, the Delaware Constitution of 1776, there was no special provision for a court of equity. However, when the constitution was revised in the Delaware Constitution of 1792 a separate Court of Chancery was established. This constitution was heavily influenced by thinking of John Dickinson and George Read. William T. Quillen and Michael Hanrahan in their Short History of the Delaware Court of Chancery repeat the "folklore of the Delaware bench and bar, saying that the impetus for creating a Court of Chancery was to provide a new judicial seat for Delaware's first Chancellor, William Killen." Killen was the elderly and highly respected incumbent Chief Justice of Delaware, and when George Read was considered to be the new Chief Justice of Delaware, he refused unless adequate provisions were made for Killen. A separate Court of Chancery under Killen was the solution.[1]

• Court of equity
• Courts of Delaware
• Delaware corporation
• The Delaware Journal of Corporate Law
• Delaware Corporate and Commercial Litigation Blog

• Munroe, John A (1993). History of Delaware. Newark, Delaware: University of Delaware Press. ISBN 0-87413-493-5.
• Conrad, Henry C (1908). History of the State of Delaware, 3 vols. Lancaster, Pennsylvania: Wickersham Company.

• Delaware Court of Chancery homepage
• CFO.com – Delaware Rules Discusses Delaware's Court of Chancery
• Delaware Historical Society website
• University of Delaware Library website