On June 10, 2013, the Delaware Supreme Court affirmed the Court of Chancery’s dismissal of a lawsuit filed by citizens of the Town of Dewey Beach, Delaware seeking to overturn the settlement of an earlier lawsuit brought against the Town by a property owner seeking to redevelop a parcel of land within the Town.

The court en banc heard oral argument in Murray v. Town of Dewey Beach, et al. on April 10, and issued an opinion applying a statute of repose found at 10 Del. C. §8126 to hold that the Plaintiffs’ claims were untimely and therefore barred.  In so holding, the court agreed with the arguments advanced by the Town and the property owner, that 10 Del. C. §8126, which provides that challenges to certain types of land use actions must be brought within 60 days after public notice of the actions, was intended to be broadly construed.

Megan Mantzavinos, Esquire, a partner in Marks O’Neill’s Delaware office, argued the case on behalf of the Town of Dewey Beach.