Robert P. Reeder and John D. Flaherty v. Hon. Nancy Wagner, et al.
Annotate this Case
Download PDF
COURT OF CHANCERY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE STEPHEN P. LAMB VICE CHANCELLOR New Castle County Court House 500 N. King Street, Suite 11400 Wilmington, Delaware 19801 Submitted: August 13, 2007 Decided: November 1, 2007 Robert P. Reeder 1302 Barksdale Road Newark, DE 19711 John Flaherty 506 W. 30th Street Wilmington, DE 19802 Frank N. Broujos, Esquire Department of Justice 820 N. French Street Wilmington, DE 19801 David H. Williams, Esquire Morris James LLP 500 Delaware Avenue Wilmington, DE 19801 John F. Brady, Esquire Brady, Richardson, Beauregard & Chasanov LLC 10 E. Pine Street Georgetown, DE 19947 RE: Robert P. Reeder and John D. Flaherty v. Hon. Nancy Wagner, Dr. Michael Thomas, and State of Delaware Auditor of Accounts R. Thomas Wagner C.A. No. 2907-VCL Dear Mr. Reeder, Mr. Flaherty, and Counsel for the Defendants: The defendants have moved to dismiss this declaratory judgment action on various grounds, including the lack of subject matter jurisdiction, pursuant to Court of Chancery Rule 12(b)(1). They argue that the action is entirely legal in nature and that there is an adequate remedy at law. In response, the plaintiffs ask that, if Reeder v. Hon. Nancy Wagner, et al. C.A. No. 2907-VCL November 1, 2007 Page 2 the court concludes that it lacks subject matter jurisdiction, the action be transferred to the appropriate court. It is well settled that the Declaratory Judgment Act does not independently confer jurisdiction on this court. As Chancellor Quillen said in Western Airlines, Inc. v. Allegheny Airlines, Inc., 313 A.2d 145, 149 (Del. Ch. 1973), this court will not exercise jurisdiction in a declaratory judgment action unless the complaint reflects some special, traditional basis for equity jurisdiction. Thus, the court must examine the complaint to determine whether it reflects any basis for the assertion of jurisdiction by this court of equity, i.e., either a claim arising out of an equitable relationship or a well pleaded demand for relief that is exclusively equitable in nature. Here, a review of the complaint plainly reveals that there is no basis for assertion of jurisdiction by this court. The complaint exclusively involves issues of statutory interpretation that are not, by such statutes, assigned to the exclusive jurisdiction of this court. As Chancellor Chandler recently held, such issues are, beyond question, legal issues capable of resolution by the Superior Court, and declaratory relief is available there to the same extent as it is [in the Court of Chancery]. Reed v. Brady, 2002 WL 1402238 at *3 n.7 (Del. Ch. June 21, 2002), aff d, 818 A.2d 150 (TABLE) (Del. 2003). Because the complaint does not seek to Reeder v. Hon. Nancy Wagner, et al. C.A. No. 2907-VCL November 1, 2007 Page 3 vindicate an equitable right and does not demand an exclusively equitable remedy, this court lacks the power to adjudicate the dispute. See, 10 Del. C. § 342 ( The Court of Chancery shall not have jurisdiction to determine any matter wherein sufficient remedy may be had by common law, or statute, before any other court or jurisdiction of this State. ). For the foregoing reasons, in accordance with 10 Del. C. § 1902, this action is transferred to the Superior Court. IT IS SO ORDERED. /s/ Stephen P. Lamb Vice Chancellor
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
