Opinion
C.A. No. 10753-VCG
04-14-2015
RE: Gordon v. National Railroad Passenger Corporation
Jeffrey M. Weiner, Esquire Law Offices of Jeffrey M. Weiner, P.A. 1332 King Street Wilmington, DE 19801 George H. Seitz, III, Esquire Seitz Van Ogtrop & Green, P.A. 222 Delaware Avenue, Suite 1500 Wilmington, DE 19801 Somers S. Price, Esquire Potter Anderson & Corroon LLP 1313 North Market Street Wilmington, DE 19801
Jeffrey M. Weiner, Esquire
Law Offices of Jeffrey M. Weiner, P.A.
1332 King Street
Wilmington, DE 19801
George H. Seitz, III, Esquire
Seitz Van Ogtrop & Green, P.A.
222 Delaware Avenue, Suite 1500
Wilmington, DE 19801
Somers S. Price, Esquire
Potter Anderson & Corroon LLP
1313 North Market Street
Wilmington, DE 19801
Dear Counsel:
This matter is before me on a Stipulation of Dismissal with Prejudice, An uninformed observer noting the civil action number, 10753, might think that this action had been filed earlier this year. That observer would be incorrect. This matter would not be considered young, even in the glacially-paced Chancery Court made infamous in English fiction. The action number in question was assigned before the current series of civil action numbers, before electronic filing, before the tenure of the current Chancellor or his predecessor. In fact, "[a] long procession of Chancellors has come in and gone out . . .'' since the Complaint was filed on April 7, 1989, during the tenure of Chancellor Allen. It was eventually case assigned to a brand-new Vice Chancellor, William B. Chandler III. In those long-ago days, the cell phone was an exotic rarity, and the Internet was not yet available to the public. My current law clerks were in diapers. Even I, in that misty and hall-legendary era, could consider myself a young man.
See Charles Dickens. Bleak House (Bradbury & Evans 1853).
Id. at 3.
I am. I am afraid, "of what is called the old school—a phrase generally meaning any school that seems never to have been young." Id. at 8.
The matter was already ten years old when 1 was appointed a Master. It has been extensively and at times vigorously litigated, and, without going into details no longer of interest to the current generation, its testudinal progress has been due to neither sloth on the part of the parties nor fault on the part of their attorneys. It is notable, however, that I have signed the attached Stipulation of Dismissal as an order of this Court twenty-five years and seven days after the Complaint was filed.
See, e.g., 2002 WL 550472 ("Del. Ch. Apr. 5, 2002); 1999 WL. 1204854 (Del. Ch. Nov. 23, 1999); 1999 WL 1022081 (Del. Ch. Oct. 26, 1999); 1997 WL 298320 (Del. Ch. Mar. 19, 1997).
I congratulate Counsel on their efforts, proven successful after a quarter century, to navigate the regulatory and political maze necessary to a successful outcome in this matter. I had hoped to do so in person, but scheduling rendered that impossible. Nonetheless, as "all partings foreshadow the great final one," I should not fail to take this opportunity to salute your efforts with this brief, earnest word, hoping that it is as good as a speech. A Stipulation and Order is attached. Sic omnis finis litium.
In the true spirit of "members of the . . . Chancery bar . . . mistily engaged in one of the ten thousand stages of an endless cause, tripping one another up on slippery precedents, groping knee-deep in technicalities . . . ." Charles Dickens. Bleak House 2 (Bradbury & Evans 1853).
Id. at 560.
Id. at 45.
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Sincerely,
/s/
Vice Chancellor
cc: Register in Chancery STIPULATION OF DISMISSAL WITH PREJUDICE
IT IS HEREBY STIPULATED by and between the parties hereto, through their respective counsel, that the above-captioned action is dismissed with prejudice with each party to pay its own costs and counsel fees.
LAW OFFICES OF JEFFREY M. WEINER PA
By: /s/ Jeffrey M. Weiner
Jeffrey M. Weiner (ID No. 403)
1332 King Struct
Wilmington, Delaware 19801
(302) 652-0505
Fax: (302) 652-7824
Attorney for the Plaintiffs
SEITZ, VAN OGTROP & GREEN. P.A.
By: /s/ George H. Seitz III
George H. Seitz III (ID No. 667)
222 Delaware Avenue
Wilmington, Delaware 19801
(302) 888-0600
Fax: (302) 888-0606
Attorneys for Defendants
DeLeuw Cather and Company and
The Ralph M. Parsons Company
POTTER ANDERSON & CORROON LLP
By: /s/ Somers S. Price. Jr.
Somers S. Price. Jr. (ID No. 279)
1313 North Market Street
Wilmington, Delaware 19801
(302) 984-6000
Fax: (302) 658-1192
Attorneys for Defendant
National Railroad Passenger Corporation
/s/_________
Sam Glasscock III
Vice Chancellor