Civil Procedure Flashcards
7 cards from real DE BAR practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Civil Procedure flashcards as text
In the Delaware Court of Chancery, who decides issues of fact at trial?
Answer: The Chancellor or a Vice Chancellor, because there are no jury trials in Chancery
The Court of Chancery is a court of equity where the Chancellor or Vice Chancellors act as fact-finders, and there is no right to a jury trial.
A plaintiff files suit in Delaware Superior Court but fails to serve the defendant. Under Superior Court Civil Rule 4, what typically happens if service is not made within 120 days of filing?
Answer: The action may be dismissed without prejudice as to that defendant unless good cause is shown
Like its federal analog, Rule 4 permits dismissal without prejudice if service is not made within 120 days absent a showing of good cause.
In Delaware, a defendant moves to dismiss under Superior Court Civil Rule 12(b)(6). What standard does the court apply?
Answer: Whether the plaintiff could recover under any reasonably conceivable set of circumstances susceptible of proof
Delaware courts apply the 'reasonable conceivability' standard, which is more lenient to plaintiffs than the federal plausibility standard.
Which Delaware court has jurisdiction over civil landlord-tenant summary possession proceedings?
Answer: The Justice of the Peace Court
The Justice of the Peace Court has exclusive jurisdiction over summary possession actions between landlords and tenants.
A Delaware plaintiff obtains a default judgment against a defendant who never answered. The defendant later moves to vacate, claiming excusable neglect. Under which rule is the motion analyzed?
Answer: Rule 60(b)
Rule 60(b) governs relief from judgments, including default judgments, on grounds such as mistake, inadvertence, or excusable neglect.
Under Delaware law, when does an appeal to the Delaware Supreme Court from a final Superior Court judgment generally have to be filed?
Answer: Within 30 days after entry of the judgment
Supreme Court Rule 6 requires a notice of appeal in civil cases to be filed within 30 days after entry of the judgment, and the deadline is jurisdictional.
In a Delaware stockholder derivative suit, what must a plaintiff plead under Court of Chancery Rule 23.1 if no pre-suit demand was made on the board?
Answer: Particularized facts showing that demand would have been futile
Rule 23.1 requires particularized allegations demonstrating demand futility, as elaborated in the Zuckerberg three-part test.