Delaware

Will plan to revamp incorporation law protect or damage Delaware’s $2B kingdom?

Published

10 months ago

March 5, 2025

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Will plan to revamp incorporation law protect or damage Delaware’s B kingdom?

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In the parlance of Delaware political and legal insiders, “the franchise” is king.

Without the franchise, the state couldn’t pay for public schools, police, prisons, social and health programs, beach replenishment, farm preservation or so much more.

Without the franchise, taxes would be significantly higher, or the state would need to slash services.

The franchise is Delaware’s system, which currently has 2.2 million businesses — and two-thirds of the Fortune 500 — incorporated in the nation’s second-smallest state. Amazon, JPMorgan Chase, Nvidia and the corporate parents of Google and Facebook and Instagram are among about 1,350 Large Corporate Filers who fork over $250,000 apiece in franchise taxes.

All told, those “incorporation revenues” are projected to directly generate $2 billion for the state treasury this year. That accounts for 29% of the state’s general fund revenue.

But today, fear is rampant in Delaware that the business-friendly franchise that some also call the “golden goose” is in serious danger of being cooked — that a mass corporate exodus or “DExit” is imminent.

Trepidation has grown over the last year since Elon Musk pulled Tesla and SpaceX out of Delaware and castigated the Delaware Chancery Court, which has long been considered the franchise’s crown jewel for its deft and reliable resolution of complicated business disputes.

“Absolute corruption,” Musk tweeted in December after the court’s chief judge rejected his $56 billion pay package from Tesla for the second time. The file-sharing platform Dropbox has announced it’s divorcing from Delaware, and other major companies such as Meta Platforms, the parent of social media giants Facebook and Instagram, say they might do the same.

So this month, new Gov. Matt Meyer, legislative leaders and a cadre of legal luminaries decided to neutralize the perceived threat before it gains ground.

Together, they crafted a complex proposal to revamp Delaware corporate law by essentially making it tougher for shareholders to sue founders and top executives for perceived conflicts.

They did so, Meyer and others involved in the process say, to alleviate concerns they are hearing from the nation’s corporate community that Chancery Court has grown increasingly unfriendly to top execs like Musk in mega-dollar cases.

Meyer, a Democrat and lawyer who took office Jan. 21, echoed other supporters when the bill was introduced Feb. 17. “We will protect our reputation and continue Delaware’s tradition of a balanced and measured approach, and we will do so relentlessly,” Meyer said.

Meyer’s concern is magnified by the impact a DExit would have on balancing the $6.8 billion state budget and maintaining public services during his four-year term, especially at a time when President Donald Trump is trying to cut critical federal funding to states.

Delaware needs and wants those $2 billion in incorporation revenues every year, plus a related $420 million the state gets from abandoned financial accounts at banks and other companies registered in the state, Meyer said.

“When one-third of your state’s budget is on the line and you’re eyeing down untold federal budget cuts, you have to make a choice: protect your residents or not. And I choose Delawareans every day,” Meyer said in an interview last week. “Any bill that helps improve our financial stability needs to be considered fully.”

Lawrence Hamermesh, professor emeritus at Widener University’s Delaware Law School and one of the bill’s drafters, said it will restore eroding confidence in corporate circles and prevent “catastrophic” cuts to the state budget.

“Unlike as long as I’ve been practicing and teaching corporate law, there is no longer the inclination to tell clients and to conclude that Delaware is the place to set up your corporation,” Hamermesh said. “That is potentially the source of a tipping point that would be devastating for the state and its taxpayers and workers and everybody here.”

The bill, which has bipartisan support that includes the Senate and House leadership, could become law within a month, said Delaware Senate Majority Leader Bryan Townsend, the chief sponsor.

While the bill currently has no effective date — spurring speculation that it could be retroactive and change the result of cases involving Musk and other executives — state Sen. Townsend said it’s being modified so the effective date would be after it’s signed into law.

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Delaware

Delaware fundraiser to feature Tito Paul, other ex-football players

Published

3 hours ago

January 12, 2026

Press Room

Delaware fundraiser to feature Tito Paul, other ex-football players

Former NFL player Tito Paul is hosting a fundraiser for the Delaware County Historical Society.
The event, called Game On, will take place on Jan. 14 at the Meeker House and The Barn at Stratford.
Paul will be joined by other former Ohio State and NFL players to share stories and answer questions.

An Ohio State alumnus, a former Cincinnati Bengals player, a Super Bowl champ and an insurance agent walk into a room … but there’s no punchline because they’re all the same person.

Tito Paul is well-known for his gridiron past, which includes playing for Ohio State, where he was selected in the fifth round of the NFL draft in 1995, and winning Super Bowl XXXIII with the Denver Broncos in 1999.

But some folks may not be aware that he’s also a superstar in Delaware County, where his State Farm agency receives consistently high reviews.

Football fans will have the chance to meet Paul at Game On, a fundraiser for the Delaware County Historical Society (DCHS) on Jan. 14 at the Meeker House and The Barn at Stratford, 2690 Stratford Road, Delaware. Kickoff is at 6 p.m.

The event will begin with a meet-and-greet from 6:15-7 p.m. in the Meeker House before moving to The Barn for the rest of the evening. A pizza party and soft drinks are included in the admission price, and beer will be available for purchase.

Paul will be joined by friends who also played for Ohio State, the NFL or both for an evening of football stories, NFL experiences and personal accounts of what it means to play in and win a Super Bowl. A Q&A period will follow the discussion.

In addition to Paul, guests will include:

Ty Howard: Ohio State, Arizona Cardinals, Cincinnati Bengals, Tennessee Titans
Michael Wiley: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Dee Miller: Ohio State, Green Bay Packers
Mike “Buster” Tillman: Ohio State

Adult tickets for Game On cost $50 for the full event or $35 for the pizza party only. Tickets for ages 10-18 cost $15. Members of the DCHS pay $45 for the full event or $30 for the pizza party only. Tickets are available at bit.ly/3N4frsg.

In the event of a Level 2 or Level 3 snow emergency, the event will be canceled, with a rescheduled date to be determined.

Contact features and entertainment reporter Belinda M. Paschal at bpaschal@dispatch.com.

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Delaware

Young humpback whale washes ashore in Delaware after possible ship strike, officials say

Published

15 hours ago

January 11, 2026

Press Room

Young humpback whale washes ashore in Delaware after possible ship strike, officials say

A young 32-foot humpback whale washed up on shore along the Delaware coast last week after it may have been struck by a large ship, according to the MERR Institute, a rescue and care facility for marine mammals in Lewes, Delaware.

The whale, estimated to have weighed at least 20,000 pounds, washed up in the Bethany Beach community on Jan. 8 after it had been floating at sea for a couple of days.

Whale likely struck by a ship

The MERR Institute said the humpback whale was in the surf zone throughout Thursday night before heavy equipment moved it to the shore the next day.

Marine officials said the tossing and churning in the surf caused gases to form and inflate the tongue. MERR Institute’s necropsy team then performed a post-mortem examination on Friday, Jan. 9.

Officials said the whale had subdermal hemorrhaging and a broken jaw on the right side, and that an injury of that nature is often associated with a large ship strike. Officials said the whale was likely still alive when it was struck by the ship.

MERR Institute officials said the whale was buried on the beach, which is “the most common practice for the disposition of the body. These large whales cannot be safely towed out to sea, so burying them on the beach allows them to become an important part of the beach ecosystem.”

“This was a tragic event, and we would like to thank everyone who helped to support us in our examination of this whale,” said MERR executive director Suzanne Thurman. “MERR’s volunteers were as wonderful as ever, and worked tirelessly to assist in examining the whale in a very short window of time. We would also like to thank DNREC for providing heavy equipment resources for towing and burial of the whale. They were able to tow the whale up onto the beach so we could safely examine it, and their staff was indispensable in helping us to position the whale so that we could get as much information as possible.”

Thurman continued, “And last but certainly not least, we would like to thank the very kind homeowners in Ocean Ridge. They looked out for our volunteers by sending down coffee and doughnuts, letting us use their bathroom, and for showing so much caring and compassion for this beautiful animal. We always appreciate the fact that we live in a community that cares so much about the ocean and its creatures.”

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Delaware

See how much homes prices fell in Sussex County recently

Published

1 day ago

January 11, 2026

Press Room

See how much homes prices fell in Sussex County recently

Newly released data from Realtor.com for October shows that potential buyers and sellers in Sussex County saw slightly lower home sale prices than the previous month’s median of $475,000.

The median home sold for $472,500, an analysis of data from Realtor.com shows. That means October, the most recent month for which figures are available, was slightly down from September.

Compared to October 2024, the median home sales price was down 4.1% compared to $492,450.

Realtor.com sources sales data from real estate deeds, resulting in a few months’ delay in the data. The statistics don’t include homes currently listed for sale and aren’t directly comparable to listings data.

Information on your local housing market, along with other useful community data, is available at data.delawareonline.com.

Here is a breakdown on median sale prices:

Looking only at single-family homes, the $490,000 median selling price in Sussex County was up 3.2% in October from $475,000 the month prior. Since October 2024, the sales price of single-family homes was slightly down from a median of $490,445.Fifty-four single family homes sold for $1 million or more during the month, compared to 36 recorded transactions of at least $1 million in October 2024.

Condominiums and townhomes is the same sales price during October to a median of $450,000 from $450,000 in September. Compared to October 2024, the sales price of condominiums and townhomes was down 9.1% from $495,000. Ten condominiums or townhomes sold for $1 million or more during the month, compared to 14 recorded transactions of at least $1 million in October 2024.

About recorded home sales in Sussex County in Delaware

In October, the number of recorded sales in Sussex County dropped by 10% since October 2024 — from 482 to 434. All residential home sales totaled $285.4 million.

Across Delaware, homes sold at a median of $399,995 during October, up 2.6% from $390,000 in September. There were 1,072 recorded sales across the state during October, down 15.8% from 1,273 recorded sales in October 2024.

Here’s a breakdown for the full state:

The total value of recorded residential home sales in Delaware decreased by 3.4% from $553.6 million in September to $534.7 million this October.
Out of all residential home sales in Delaware, 6.72% of homes sold for at least $1 million in October, up from 5.11% in October 2024.
Sales prices of single-family homes across Delaware increased by 2.8% from a median of $408,500 in September to $419,900 in October. Since October 2024, the sales price of single-family homes across the state was up 5% from $400,000.
Across the state, the sales price of condominiums and townhomes dropped 7.4% from a median of $345,450 in September to $320,000 during October. The median sales price of condominiums and townhomes is down 5.9% from the median of $340,000 in October 2024.

The median home sales price used in this report represents the midway point of all the houses or units listed over the given period of time. The median offers a more accurate view of what’s happening in a market than the average sales price, which would mean taking the sum of all sales prices then dividing by the number of homes sold. The average can be skewed by one particularly low or high sale.

USA TODAY Co. is publishing localized versions of this story on its news sites across the country, generated with data from Realtor.com. Please leave any feedback or corrections for this story here. This story was written by Ozge Terzioglu. Our News Automation and AI team would like to hear from you. Take this survey and share your thoughts with us.

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