Supreme Court of Delaware

Superior court judgment reversing the City of Wilmington Zoning Board of Adjustment's grant of a use variance is reversed where the superior court erred when it determined that co-plaintiff was not a necessary party, as the owner of land that is the subject of a decision of a municipal board of adjustment is a necessary party that must be joined in an appeal of that decision, and thus the original petition for a writ of certiorari seeking judicial review of the Zoning Board's decision should have been dismissed for failure to name an indispensable party.

Appellate Information

• Decided 08/10/2009
• Published 08/10/2009

Judges

• HOLLAND, Justice., Before STEELE, Chief Justice, HOLLAND, BERGER, JACOBS and RIDGELY, Justices, constituting the Court en Banc.

Court

• Supreme Court of Delaware

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Wendie C. Stabler, Esquire, and Michael A. DeNote, Esquire, Saul Ewing, LLP, Wilmington, Delaware, and Michael F. Bonkowski, Esquire (argued), Cole, Schotz, Meisel, Forman & Leonard, P.A., Wilmington, Delaware, for appellant, CCS Investors, LLC., Douglas M. Hershman, Esquire, and Scott G. Wilcox, Esquire (argued), Bayard, P.A., Wilmington, Delaware, for appellant, Preservation Delaware, Inc., William E. Manning, Esquire, and Richard A. Forsten, Esquire, Buchanan, Ingersoll & Rooney, P.C., Wilmington, Delaware, amicus curiae for National Trust for Historic Preservation.


• For Appellees:
  
• Jeffrey S. Goddess, Esquire (argued), Rosenthal, Monhait & Goddess, P.A., Wilmington, Delaware, for appellees.