SUPERIOR COURT
OF THE
STATE OF DELAWARE
Charles E. Butler Leonard L. Williams Justice Center
Resident Judge 500 North King Street, Suite 10400
Wilmington, Delaware 19801-3733
Telephone (302) 255-0656
September 16, 2020
Donald L. Gouge, Jr., Esquire
Donald L. Gouge, Jr., LLC
800 N. King Street, Suite 303
Wilmington, DE 19899-1674
Re: New Castle County Sheriff
Mr. Gouge:
The Court has your letter dated September 1, 2020 as well as an accompanying
Petition to postpone real estate auctions to be conducted by the New Castle County
Sheriff and to allow future real estate auctions to be conducted online. Your motion
further recites the well-known history of the global Covid-19 pandemic and the
response of the State and the Delaware Supreme Court. Finally, your motion advises
that the sheriff has cancelled previous scheduled sheriff’s sales and seeks approval
of those cancellations nunc pro tunc.
The Court understands from your Petition that the sheriff normally conducts
court-ordered sheriff’s sales inside the County Council chambers in the City/County
building, but the chambers have been closed due to the Covid-19 outbreak.
Although the sheriff has sought out alternative sights, he seeks an Order from the
Court authorizing the sheriff to conduct the auctions online.
Perhaps in an effort to comfort the Court that such an Order is within the
mainstream of the Court’s business, you quote Burge v. Fidelity Bond Mortg. Co.
that the Court “has broad discretion in the supervision and review of sheriff’s
sale[s]. 1 But as you know, the Burge case involved a clerical error in a bid, not the
location of the bidding itself. As to the location, 10 Del. C. §4974 says that sheriff’s
sales shall occur at the premises being sold or in a “public building” in the county
seat.
Thus, your query does not involve the Court’s exercise of discretion over the
conduct of the sale, but rather seeks a Court ruling that interprets a statute of the
General Assembly. 2 Without the benefit of other or contrary viewpoints, a ruling on
this record would set precedent that would be difficult to overcome by a party
wishing to contest your desired statutory interpretation. In other words, what you
seek is an advisory opinion. The Court resolves controversies with the aid of
1
648 A.2d 414, 417 (Del. 1994)
2
Likewise, the citation to federal cases determining that an online auction satisfies
the requirement of a “public sale” under a federal statute does little to advance the
argument that the Court should interpret an online sale to satisfy the term “public
building” in the Delaware Code.
2
competing viewpoints and arguments. The Court is not in the business of rendering
general legal advice and doing so is disapproved.3
The Petition for a ruling that allows sheriff’s real estate auctions online must
therefore be DENIED. This ruling is not on the merits of the argument and is
without prejudice to the sheriff raising these arguments in a procedurally proper
forum.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Resident Judge Charles E. Butler
3
See generally Stroud v. Milliken Enterprises, Inc. 552 A.2d 476, 479-81 (Del.
1989)
3