Delaware Code Title 10 Sec. 7112 – Enforcing ex parte and temporary abatement orders
(a) Upon order of the Court, ex parte closing orders and temporary abatement orders shall be enforced by the appropriate police agency having jurisdiction over the area where the premises are located.
Terms Used In Delaware Code Title 10 Sec. 7112
- Court: means the Superior Court of the State of Delaware. See Delaware Code Title 10 Sec. 7103
- 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.
- Person: means a human being who has been born and is alive, and, where appropriate, a public or private corporation, a trust, a firm, a joint stock company, a union, an unincorporated association, a partnership, a government or a governmental instrumentality. See Delaware Code Title 10 Sec. 7103
- Personal property: All property that is not real property.
- premises: includes any building, structure, erection, or any separate part or portion thereof, whether used as a residence, for commercial purposes or a house of worship, or the ground itself. See Delaware Code Title 10 Sec. 7103
- State: means the State of Delaware; and when applied to different parts of the United States, it includes the District of Columbia and the several territories and possessions of the United States. See Delaware Code Title 1 Sec. 302
(b) The officers serving an ex parte closing order or a temporary abatement order shall file with the Court an inventory of the personal property situated in or on the premises closed and shall be allowed to enter the premises to make the inventory. The inventory shall provide an accurate representation of the personal property subject to such inventory including, but not limited to, photographing of furniture, fixtures and other personal or movable property.
(c) The officers serving an ex parte closing order shall, upon service of the order, demand all persons present in the premises closed, to vacate such premises or portion thereof forthwith unless the Court orders otherwise. The premises or portion thereof shall be securely locked and all keys shall be held by the agency closing the premises.
(d) Upon service of an ex parte closing order or a temporary abatement order, the officer shall post a copy thereof in a conspicuous place or upon 1 or more of the principal doors at entrances of the premises. In addition, where an ex parte closing order has been granted, the officers shall affix, in a conspicuous place or upon 1 or more of the principal entrances of such premises, a printed notice that the entire premises or portion thereof have been closed by court order, which notice shall contain a legend “Closed by Court Order” in block lettering of sufficient size to be observed by anyone intending or likely to enter the premises. The printed notice shall also include the date of the order, the Court which issued the order and the name of the office or agency posting the notice. In addition, where a temporary abatement order has been granted, the officer shall affix, in the same manner, a notice similar to the notice provided for in relation to an ex parte closing order except that the notice shall state that certain activity is prohibited by court order and that removal of furniture, fixtures or other personal or movable property is prohibited by court order.
(e) Any person who knowingly or purposely violates any ex parte closing order or temporary abatement order issued pursuant to this chapter shall be subject to civil contempt as well as punishment for criminal contempt pursuant to §§ 1271–1272 of Title 11 and § 7129 of this title.