Welcome to your daily briefing on legal developments in Delaware. Today we're covering 7 key stories including updates on delaware legal headlines, background & context. Let's dive in.
4 stories
The Delaware State Bar Association is now selling Peace, Love, DSBA shirts and continues to proudly serve Delaware's legal community.
For DE legal professionals, DSBA membership and engagement supports the state's only bar association dedicated to serving local practitioners.
The Delaware Division of Corporations now offers an electronic submission service for business entity document filings and certificate requests.
Legal professionals handling DE corporate formations and maintenance can streamline filings through this digital submission portal, though note it does not provide direct online filing or immediate document retrieval.
The Delaware Bar Foundation works to improve the administration of justice in Delaware by providing legal services for the poor and promoting study and research.
Legal professionals across Delaware rely on the Foundation's work to bridge access-to-justice gaps and strengthen the state's legal infrastructure.
Kimberly Hollenback, VOCA Supervising Attorney and Media Office Managing Attorney for Legal Aid of Southeastern Pennsylvania, received an Illumination Award at the Delaware County Bar Association President's Dinner held January 17, 2025.
Recognition of legal aid leadership highlights career pathways and pro bono commitment valued by DE legal professionals in neighboring Pennsylvania's bar associations.
Reach professionals in this market
3 stories
Beyond civil-rights and consumer-protection statutes, many DE jurisdictions have fee-shifting provisions in landlord-tenant, mechanics' lien, insurance bad-faith, and construction-defect contexts. Pleading the fee-shifting statute in the complaint is typically required to preserve the right to recover.
A fee-shifting case has fundamentally different settlement dynamics than a non-fee case, especially in low-damages disputes where fees can dwarf the underlying claim.
Arbitration clauses are most often struck down for procedural unconscionability — surprise placement, font that hides them, or no opportunity to negotiate — rather than substantive issues. A clause that is conspicuous, separately initialed, and accompanies a clear written notice of waiver of jury trial survives review in most jurisdictions.
A void arbitration clause means the dispute lands in court, often with discovery and jury exposure that the clause was meant to prevent. Drafting discipline at contract formation is cheap; defending the clause years later is not.
The clock can pause for: (1) the defendant being out of state in some jurisdictions, (2) the plaintiff being a minor or under disability, (3) the defendant fraudulently concealing the cause of action. The clock does NOT pause for: settlement negotiations, insurance correspondence, or the plaintiff being unaware of the legal theory.
Misreading tolling is the most common malpractice claim against general civil litigators. The defenses are routinely lost on motion to dismiss before discovery even opens.
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