Jennings, Attorney General of the State of Delaware v. Durden
The Delaware Attorney General sued the trustees of the Alfred I. duPont Testamentary Trust and the Nemours Foundation for breach of a 1980 settlement agreement (requiring that no more than 50% of trust distributions be spent outside Delaware) and breach of trust. The trial court dismissed the contract count and granted summary judgment on the trust count for lack of standing, refusing to follow State of Delaware ex rel. Gebelein v. Florida First National Bank, 381 So. 2d 1075 (Fla. 1st DCA 1979). The Fifth DCA reversed both rulings, adopting Gebelein's common-law 'special interest' doctrine and holding the trial court was bound by that precedent.
Key facts
- Delaware's Attorney General sued the trustees of the Alfred I. duPont Testamentary Trust and the Nemours Foundation alleging breach of a 1980 settlement agreement requiring that no more than 50% of trust distributions be spent outside Delaware, and breach of trust.
- The trial court dismissed the contract count and granted summary judgment on the trust count for lack of standing, declining to follow a prior First DCA precedent establishing a common-law 'special interest' doctrine for standing.
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Why it matters
This is a significant standing decision confirming that Florida's Trust Code did not displace the common-law 'special interest' doctrine for enforcement of charitable trusts, useful to any litigant arguing that a… — full analysis with a trial
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