25 Del. C. ch. 57 § 5701A
Establishing territorial jurisdiction
Operative Text
In any county in which more than 1 Justice of the Peace Court location has been designated to hear civil cases, each court location shall have a geographical area assigned to it for the purpose of establishing jurisdiction over actions for summary possession. Each court location shall be located within its given territory. Pursuant to § 5701 of this title, any action for summary possession involving a residential or commercial unit within a given territory shall be maintained at the Justice of the Peace Court which has jurisdiction over the given territory. Designation of the boundaries between territories shall be accomplished by court rule. In so doing, the Court may take into account the resources of each Justice of the Peace Court location; how these resources may be utilized best in serving the public good; convenience to the public; and population and demographic information, both current and projected.
Section 5701A of Title 25 of the Delaware Code establishes how geographic jurisdiction is assigned among multiple Justice of the Peace Court locations within a single county for summary possession (eviction) cases. When a county has more than one such court location authorized to hear civil matters, each location is assigned a defined territory, and any summary possession action must be filed at the court whose territory covers the property in question. The boundaries between territories are set by court rule, with the Court considering factors such as court resources, public convenience, and population data when drawing those lines.
Plain English — not legal advice.
Under § 5701A, property owners and managers filing a summary possession action in Delaware must identify which Justice of the Peace Court location has territorial jurisdiction over the specific property before initiating proceedings. A compliant operator generally confirms the court territory assigned to the rental unit's address—through court rules or the court's published boundary designations—and files in the correct location. Filing in the wrong court location could affect the validity or progress of the action, so operators typically verify jurisdiction at the outset of any summary possession proceeding.
General guidance for property managers — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult an attorney for advice on your case.
Section 5701A gives tenants a basis to check whether a summary possession case against them has been filed in the correct Justice of the Peace Court location for the territory where their rental unit is located. If a case appears to have been filed in a court location that does not have territorial jurisdiction over the property under the applicable court rules, that may be a procedural issue worth raising. Tenants who have questions about whether the correct court location was used can consult a tenant-rights organization or legal aid provider familiar with Delaware's Justice of the Peace Court system.
General guidance for tenants — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult a tenant-rights organization or attorney for advice on your case.
Generated October 22, 2026 — auto-generated, not yet human-reviewed. See /transparency for methodology.
Effective Timeline
References In
Rules and statutes that cite this regulation