Delaware Code Title 10 Sec. 6603 – Jurisdiction; procedure for approval of transfers
(a) The Superior Court shall have nonexclusive jurisdiction over any application for authorization, under § 6601 of this title, of a transfer of structured settlement payment rights, except that if the structured settlement payment rights are held by a trustee, the Court of Chancery shall have exclusive jurisdiction over any application for authorization of a transfer of such rights.
Terms Used In Delaware Code Title 10 Sec. 6603
- Interested parties: shall mean , with respect to any structured settlement, the payee, any beneficiary designated under the annuity contract to receive payments following the payee's death, the annuity issuer, the structured settlement obligor, and any other party that has continuing rights or obligations under such structured settlement;
(9) "Payee" shall mean an individual who is receiving tax-free damage payments under a structured settlement and proposes to make a transfer of payment rights thereunder;
(10) "Qualified assignment agreement" shall mean an agreement providing for a qualified assignment within the meaning of § 130 of the United States Internal Revenue Code, United States Code Title 26 (26 U. See Delaware Code Title 10 Sec. 6602
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Responsible administrative authority: shall mean , with respect to a structured settlement, any government authority vested by law with exclusive jurisdiction over the settled claim resolved by such structured settlement;
(12) "Settled claim" shall mean the original tort claim or workers' compensation claim resolved by a structured settlement;
(13) "Structured settlement" shall mean an arrangement for periodic payment of damages for personal injuries established by settlement or judgment in resolution of a tort claim or for periodic payments in settlement of a workers' compensation claim;
(14) "Structured settlement agreement" shall mean the agreement, judgment, stipulation or release embodying the terms of a structured settlement, including the rights of the payee to receive periodic payments;
(15) "Structured settlement obligor" shall mean, with respect to any structured settlement, the party that has the continuing periodic payment obligation to the payee under a structured settlement agreement or a qualified assignment agreement;
(16) "Structured settlement payment rights" shall mean rights to receive periodic payments (including lump sum payments) under a structured settlement, whether from the settlement obligor or the annuity issuer, where:
- Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
- Transfer: shall mean any sale, assignment, pledge, hypothecation or other form of alienation or encumbrance made by a payee for consideration;
(19) "Transfer agreement" shall mean the agreement providing for transfer of structured settlement payment rights from a payee to a transferee; and
(20) "Transferee" or "payor" shall mean the person, firm or entity purchasing or receiving the assignment, pledge, hypothecation or other form of alienation or encumbrance made by a payee for consideration under a structured settlement agreement. See Delaware Code Title 10 Sec. 6602
- Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
(b) Not less than 20 days prior to the scheduled hearing on any application for authorization of a transfer of structured settlement payment rights under § 6601(2) of this title, the transferee shall file with the Court and serve on any other government authority which previously approved the structured settlement and on all interested parties a notice of the proposed transfer and application of its authorization, including in such notice:
(1) A copy of the transferee’s application;
(2) A copy of the transfer agreement;
(3) A copy of the disclosure statement required under § 6601(2) of this title;
(4) Notification that any interested party is entitled to support, oppose or otherwise respond to the transferee’s application, either in person or by counsel, by submitting written comments to the Court or responsible administrative authority or by participating in the hearing; and
(5) Notification of the time and place of the hearing and notification of the manner in which and the time by which written responses to the application must be filed (which shall be not less than 15 days after service of the transferee’s notice) in order to be considered by the Court or responsible administrative authority.
(c) Those parties, persons and officials named in § 6603(b) of this title shall have standing to raise, appear and be heard on any matter relating to an application for authorization of a transfer of structured settlement payment rights under this chapter.
(d) In cases where the payee shall not be represented by counsel, or where the payee and the transferee shall be represented by the same counsel, and the Court, in the exercise of its reasonable discretion, finds that the payee does not adequately comprehend the substance of the transaction, the Court may appoint an attorney ad litem who shall advise the Court if, in their opinion, the requirements of § 6601 of this title have been met. The costs and fees incurred by such attorney ad litem shall be borne by the payor or transferee and shall not be passed on to the payee or deducted from the payee’s structured settlement agreement proceeds, provided that such costs do not exceed $500.
72 Del. Laws, c. 303, § ?1; 75 Del. Laws, c. 148, §§ ?2, 3; 75 Del. Laws, c. 301, § ?4;