Beck v. Brady
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EFiled: Sep 21 2004 1:12PM EDT Filing ID 4246085 COURT OF CHANCERY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE JOHN W. NOBLE VICE CHANCELLOR 417 SOUTH STATE STREET DOVER, DELAWARE 19901 TELEPHONE: (302) 739-4397 FACSIMILE: (302) 739-6179 September 21, 2004 Mr. Leonard H. Beck 2515 McCawber Dr. Wilmington, DE 19808 Re: Ophelia M. Waters, Esquire Deputy Attorney General Carvel State Office Building 820 N. French Street, 6th Fl. Wilmington, DE 19801 Beck v. Brady C.A. No. 460-N Date Submitted: September 16, 2004 Dear Mr. Beck and Ms. Waters: This is the Court s decision on the Respondent Attorney General s motion to dismiss Petitioner Leonard H. Beck s request for declaratory judgment that would resolve the Petitioner s question of whether there is a contract between the State of Delaware and its taxpayers with regard to certain aspects of public education. As described below, there is no justiciable controversy. Thus, the Respondent s motion to dismiss is granted.1 1 The parties written submissions sufficiently inform the Court of their contentions. Thus, oral argument is unnecessary. September 21, 2004 Page 2 An actual controversy is a prerequisite to obtaining a declaratory judgment.2 While this Court is obligated to construe the term actual controversy liberally,3 the Court must not construe it so liberally as to enter the realm of rendering advisory opinions.4 After identifying the parties (the Petitioner and the Respondent Attorney General), the Petitioner s complaint, captioned Request for a Declaratory Judgment, reads as follows: 3. Delaware State Law Title 14., Chapter 27., School Attendance, paragraphs 2701, 2702, 2722 (b), 2732 (d), 2730 (9), and 2730 (b) prosecution for criminal contempt of Court, require that the Legal Guardian must enroll each Youth, and the State will teach each Youth. 2 See, e.g., Gannett Co. v. Bd. of Managers for the Del. Criminal Justice Information Sys., 840 A.2d 1232, 1237 (Del. 2003) ( In order for a court to exercise declaratory judgment jurisdiction, there must be an actual controversy : (1) It must be a controversy involving the rights or other legal relations of the party seeking declaratory relief; (2) It must be a controversy in which the claim of right or other legal interest is asserted against one who has an interest in contesting the claim; (3) the controversy must be between parties whose interests are real and adverse; (4) the issue involved in the controversy must be ripe for judicial determination. ) (citations omitted). 3 See Rollins Int l, Inc. v. Int l Hydronics Corp., 303 A.2d 660, 662 (Del. 1973) ( [T]he term actual controversy should be liberally interpreted to give wide scope to the provisions of the [Declaratory Judgment Act] within the purposes thereof. ). 4 See Anonymous v. State, 2000 WL 739252 (Del. Ch. May 10, 2000) (stating that the Declaratory Judgment Act, 10 Del. C. Ch. 65, is not to be used as a means of eliciting advisory opinions from the courts ) (quoting Stroud v. Milliken Enterprises, Inc., 552 A.2d 476, 479 (Del. 1989)); Marshall v. Hill, 93 A.2d 524, 525 (Del. Super. 1952) ( The Declaratory Judgments Act may not be invoked merely to seek legal advice. ). September 21, 2004 Page 3 4. I ask the Court to decide if this is a contract between the State and her Legal Guardians and Taxpayers. Thus, the Petitioner s pleading does not allege a single instance of actual harm or controversy. In other words, from the face of Petitioner s pleading, deciding whether, with regard to public education, a contract exists between the State of Delaware and its taxpayers would be a purely academic exercise. Since there is not an actual, live controversy between the parties, the Petitioner s request is non-justiciable. Accordingly, Respondent s motion to dismiss is granted. IT IS SO ORDERED. Very truly yours, /s/ John W. Noble JWN/cap cc: Register in Chancery-NC
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