Delaware Law Weekly

How may US judges vet experts for jurors? The new evidence rule set to take effect is sparking debate

Delaware Law Weekly

An upcoming change to a federal evidence rule has garnered support from those who say judges have not been consistently stringent in evaluating expert testimony post-Daubert, but critics say it’s a push for an unfair defense bar advantage billed as a crackdown on junk science at trial.

The update to Rule 702, set to go into effect officially on Dec. 1, has raised the issue of whether it’s a long overdue way to hold judges to an evidentiary standard they should have been following for decades or if it encourages them to cross over into the jurors’ domain.

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‘An astounding admission’: Risk of Murdoch testimony, High threshold for Dominion said to spur settlement

Delaware Law Weekly

Trial attorneys said Wednesday that the $787.5 million settlement between Dominion and Fox was likely motivated more by odds that stacked up in Dominion’s favor over time than any last-minute development.

The settlement was reached Tuesday afternoon, after a jury had been selected in the Delaware Superior Court case. The staggering settlement amount, attorneys who have been following the case say, signals Fox in particular was trying to avoid a trial, possibly because of what might come out when Fox News leadership and hosts took the stand.

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Evidence against Fox News in Del. case may support strongest-ever argument for actual malice

Delaware Law Weekly

Less than two weeks out from trial, those following Dominion Voting Systems’ defamation case generally agree: the odds of avoiding a finding of actual malice aren’t looking good for Fox News.

Whether or not Fox News executives acted with actual malice is the main issue a jury is expected to address in the case, with Superior Court Judge Eric M. Davis already settling the question of falsity in Dominion’s favor in an opinion. 

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Delaware bar leaders: Admission changes remove obstacles, maintain high standards

Delaware Law Weekly

Attorneys are expressing hope that a series of changes to Delaware’s bar exam and admission process will remove unnecessary obstacles to practicing law in the state while keeping intact the high admission standards it’s known for.

Lowering the exam cut score by two points, offering the exam twice a year and cutting back the essay section and its possible topics significantly are overall positive, leaders in Delaware’s legal education community said, but they may be the first of many changes in a more dramatic overhaul of the country’s most exclusive bar.

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The ‘longest,’ ‘most emotional’ experience: Attorneys mark final plan approval in Boy Scouts case

Delaware Law Weekly

More than two and a half years after the Boy Scouts of America first filed for bankruptcy in the District of Delaware, attorneys for tens of thousands of sexual abuse survivors are celebrating the court’s approval of a final Chapter 11 plan.

Judge Laurie Selber Silverstein’s final approval last week means a trust of more than $2.4 billion in settlement funds obtained to date can start to be distributed to the more than 82,000 abuse claimants, though there’s no set timetable for when that process will be complete.

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Delaware DOJ’s public corruption trial success rate signals case against state auditor will be tough

Delaware Law Weekly

Delaware Auditor Kathy McGuiness is heading to trial this week, facing five corruption-related criminal charges.

If the Department of Justice’s recent track record on public official conviction is any indication, a full acquittal isn’t out of the question, but it’s also not unlikely McGuiness will be convicted of at least one charge.

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Web3 litigation is a regulatory waiting game in Delaware

Delaware Business Court Insider, Delaware Law Weekly

Web3 has raised countless questions about corporate entity structures and securities regulations, but attorneys specializing in the area don’t foresee most of them being answered in a Delaware court, at least not immediately.

That doesn’t mean those interested in Delaware corporate law shouldn’t pay attention to how those questions are resolved in other courts or by regulatory changes, with some cases involving decentralized autonomous organizations likely to show up in the Court of Chancery at some point.

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Civil rights attorneys: DSU lacrosse players may make a case in Georgia bus search

Delaware Law Weekly

The Delaware State University’s women’s lacrosse team may be able to make a case that their civil rights were violated when their bus was stopped and searched last month.

Civil rights attorneys have said since the incident came to light earlier this week that the majority Black team could make any of several claims at the federal level, mostly predicated on the idea that Georgia law enforcement officers searched the bus without probable cause.

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Small world, high bar: Delaware’s location, admission requirements deter underrepresented attorneys, experts say

Delaware Law Weekly

Those who have watched the Delaware bar and bench wrestle with the need to increase diversity say it may be for the same reason they struggle with keeping talented legal minds in the state in general: Delaware law is hard to get into and easy to leave.

While the legal profession is generally whiter than the general population across the country, Delaware’s proportions of attorneys and judges of color lag further behind than those in nearby markets, and proponents of diversity and inclusion cite both the proximity of those markets and the fact that the state’s bar is the most difficult in the country to gain admission to.

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Great exSPACtations: Practitioners say Delaware will set tone for new post-merger litigation

Delaware Business Court Insider, Delaware Law Weekly

Nearly as fast as SPACs themselves rose in popularity, shareholders have started filing litigation against the acquisition companies that have closed their deals.

Aside from securities cases filed in federal courts, Delaware’s Court of Chancery is the primary venue where corporate litigators are watching and waiting to see how the increasingly common companies are treated compared to others involved in M&A and breach of fiduciary duty litigation, with just a handful of cases expected to lay out the scope of SPAC shareholders’ and directors’ rights and duties, as well as how, or if, shareholders will be able to make similar claims in the future.

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