June 2019 - Coastal Network

Folks, the USA Today story below (national news!) is a prime example of why the Coastal Network is your watchdog on all things Delaware and Andre Bouchard’s Chancery Court. You can trust me to keep an eye out for those things that matter most.

There was a victory for property owners in the United States Supreme Court this past week, indeed a victory for those who don’t want their property to be “Taken” by State shenanigans.

As is well-documented, in my educated view and in my previous articles, It appears Chancellor Bouchard threw out the rule of law and the U.S. Constitution in his bizarre, illogical rulings on the TransPerfect case and replaced them with an episode of, “How to Make my Cronies Rich, on the Backs of 5,000 Employees.”

This is the Federal Government finally changing 30 YEARS of precedent to give those in the Shawe’s position (citizens facing a State government “taking” of private property), a better chance to fight those in Bouchard’s omnipotent and arbitrary position. Now, if someone like Bouchard is taking your property, you can go right into federal court — you no longer have to wait until the state court proceedings are finalized.

It’s difficult to say if this is in direct response to the TransPerfect case or not and my extensive expose of it, but nonetheless, Bouchard and (Chief Justice / Former Bouchard Intern) Leo Strine, were able to avoid Federal review of their actions in the TransPerfect fiasco — by legal “mumbo jumbo.” Well folks, it just got much harder for them and other State government actors attempting to seize property, and do so without facing a Federal challenge.

Please see the USA Today article below. Your comments are welcome and appreciated.

Respectfully Submitted,

JUDSON Bennett-Coastal Network

Conservative victory: Supreme Court gives property owners fast track to challenge government takings

Richard Wolf, USA TODAY

Published 10:27 a.m. ET June 21, 2019 | Updated 12:08 p.m. ET June 21, 2019

WASHINGTON – Landowners won a closely watched property rights victory at the Supreme Court Friday in a case that centered on a cemetery.

After holding two oral arguments over four months, the justices ruled that a Pennsylvania woman whose land was used for access to an old burial ground can seek compensation in federal court. The 5-4 opinion was written by Chief Justice John Roberts, with conservative justices behind him and liberal justices opposed.

“A property owner has a claim for a violation of the Takings Clause as soon as a government takes his property for public use without paying for it,” Roberts said. “The property owner may sue the government at that time in federal court.”

The decision overrules a portion of a Supreme Court precedent that in turn was based on other cases dating to the late 1800s, which Associate Justice Elena Kagan noted in her dissent.”Under cover of overruling ‘only’ a single decision, today’s opinion smashes a hundred-plus years of legal rulings to smithereens,” she said.

Noting that Associate Justice Stephen Breyer earlier this term criticized the court’s conservatives for overturning precedent by wondering “which cases the court will overrule next,” Kagan added: “Well, that didn’t take long. Now one may wonder yet again.”

The decision represents a victory for conservative and libertarian groups opposed to government takings. During the second oral argument in January, Associate Justice Samuel Alito had accused the local government of seeking “home-court advantage” in state court.

The ruling partially overrules a Supreme Court precedent dating back more than 30 years – something the court generally tries to avoid, but which some conservative justices have been more willing to do in recent years.

The challenge was brought by Rose Mary Knick, who sought damages for the 2013 invasion of her property by Scott Township, Pennsylvania. Under local rules, property owners must allow access to private cemeteries discovered on their land.

The dispute focused on when a taking is effective: When the government stakes its claim, or only later when financial compensation is denied in state court.

Breaking news folks, in a recent survey released by Slingshot Strategies LLC, confirms what I have been reporting on for years. There are a large number of Delaware voters who are dissatisfied with Andre Bouchard’s Chancery Court. Importantly, 79% of Delawareans believe Andre Bouchard should have been forced to disclose his pre-existing, 20-year BFF friendship with TransPerfect Global co-founder, Elting’s counsel, Kevin Shannon of Potter Anderson.

Additionally, the Delaware citizenry apparently agrees that conflicts of interest clearly exposed, not sealed up by a judge who could be abusing his power, in regard to the appointments of custodians. Bottom line folks, the Delaware people, in my opinion and in my assessment of these poll results, are not happy with Andre Bouchard and the rampant cronyism that has defined his tenure.

Recently, folks demanding greater transparency from Bouchard in his Chancery Court at a Bar Association Brunch were forced to leave by security, not only the event itself, but the parking lot as well. Is this the Chancellor’s latest bid to thwart activities protected by the United States Constitution?

Frankly, these poll results are unfortunately gratifying in a way because, in my opinion, a vast majority of Delawareans believe that Bouchard’s shady, illogical rulings in the TransPerfect case — supported by his former intern Leo Strine — in a nonsensical majority opinion — are improper. Our once-renowned Chancery Court is now infamous for corruption in my opinion.

Delaware, having dissipated from #1 to #11 for judicial equity in a national survey conducted last year by the United States Chamber of Commerce — is losing corporations to Nevada because many business people are concerned about potential subjective rulings coming out of Delaware’s Chancery Court these days?

Yes folks, having watched Chancellor Bouchard very closely from the time he was appointing various people to the Deputy of the Register of Wills job (before he found one that could actually do the job), having read all the transcripts from the TransPerfect case, and having interviewed many people, I am convinced beyond a shadow of doubt, the longer Bouchard holds office, the worse off Delaware will be.

Please read the article below published by Yahoo Finance, citing “widespread dissatisfaction” with Bouchard’s Chancery Court.

Survey Reveals Widespread Dissatisfaction With The Delaware Chancery Court

A recent poll shows that Delaware voters align with Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware in their crusade for transparency in the Delaware Chancery Court

DOVER, Del., June 24, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — A staggering amount of Delaware citizens have expressed dissatisfaction with the Chancery Court’s proposed reforms and the state government’s transparency, according to a recent survey.

The survey, released in April by Slingshot Strategies, LLC., noted 79% of Delawarevoters and 77% of registered Democrats demand judges to disclose relationships with lawyers. In addition, about 70% of both Delaware voters and registered Democrats propose custodians to disclose conflicts of interests to the general public. The sweeping support for additional disclosure from the Chancery Court is heavily linked to the overwhelming frustration citizens have for the state government.

According to the survey, 92% of voters agree that the state government is dishonest and 58% believe it is nearly impossible to hold local politicians accountable for their actions. Almost 50% feel helpless in the fight for their voices and concerns to be addressed, due to political bias and nepotism in Delaware politics.

Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware have demanded more transparency, equity, accountability and freedom of speech from the Chancery Court, only to be denied such basic Constitutional rights. On June 14, 2019, Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware volunteers were forcibly removed from the Delaware Chancery Court after using their First Amendment rights to request transparency. While the group was denied the right to distribute information to those most closely associated with the Court system, Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware will continue to bring their push for accountability to the residents of Delaware through media advertisements in the News Journal, as well as other local media.

Influential leaders such as Chancellor Bouchard halt Delaware Chancery Court reform and Delaware’s reputation as a hub for headquarters and businesses are being negatively affected. Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware is committed to exposing the clandestine processes of Delaware’s Chancery Court. “The long-standing corruption and white washing of justice in the Delaware Chancery Court is abhorrent and unethical,” said Miranda Wessinger, president of the Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware. “The citizens of Delaware deserve transparency and accountability from local political leaders. Our efforts to serve the Delaware people will not be impeded, regardless of the bureaucratic push back. We are determined to keep Delaware’s reputation as a thriving and profitable business state.”

Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware is a group made up of more than 2,700 members including employees of the global translation services company TransPerfect, as well as concerned Delaware residents, business executives and others. They formed in April of 2016 to focus on raising awareness with Delaware residents, elected officials, and other stakeholders about the issue.

While their primary goal of saving the company has been accomplished, they continue their efforts to fight for more transparency in the Delaware Chancery Court. For more information on Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware or to join the cause, visit DelawareForBusiness.org.

OPINION

Dear Friends,

Delaware’s Chancellor Andre Bouchard attended a conference last week and volunteers from “Citizens for Pro Business Delaware” showed up to ask questions about the Chancery Court. His response? He had them removed from the property. Can you believe it? Time and time again, he has shown that he has thin skin. But ladies and gentleman, if you can’t take questions about your tenure, you should not be a judge.

As I have documented in my columns to you many times, Judge Bouchard is already infamous for one of the worst decisions in Delaware history, as I see it, in the TransPerfect case (an adjudication based on pure bias and grotesque subjective rulings). He appointed his friend and former business partner as a custodian of a company, who then made millions of dollars on the backs of the TransPerfect employees who have been going without raises and additional benefits, as I understand it, because of this outrageous fleecing.

The latest Bouchard fiasco happened when volunteers from “Citizens for Pro Business Delaware”, wanting answers and asking for transparency, were required to leave because Bouchard did not like the literature they were passing out, which asked for a transparent court in Delaware.

A man who has the courage of his convictions, a man who had nothing to hide, would have openly addressed the criticism with facts and ideas, and positive ANSWERS. Instead, security removed the volunteers.

As I see it folks, Bouchard has and still is intentionally withholding evidence from public scrutiny, a man that has innumerable conflicts of interest and many appearances of impropriety that have cost Delaware a loss of reputation (dropping the state from #1 to #11 in a national survey for providing fairness and equity).

The Chancery Court has operated like a “Boys Club” for years in my view, as the judges give business to their friends and associates and nobody challenges them on it. Cameras are kept out of the courtroom and proceedings are routinely closed to spectators. This is 2019 and the end is near. You can no longer operate in a vacuum as if it is 1926. We need transparency in the Chancery Court for the sake of Delaware’s future. Otherwise, it will be too late and we will lose the most important business we have.

Please read the article below, about how Bouchard acted when criticized at this public event, which ironically was designated for the specific purpose of discussing Chancery Court issues and possible future changes. Shame on him!

Your comments are welcome and appreciated!

Respectfully yours,

JUDSON Bennett-Coastal Network

Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware Volunteers Removed From Delaware State Bar Association Brunch

PR Newswire June 17, 2019

Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware’s Freedom of Speech Impeded in Their Effort to Promote Transparency and Accountability on the Chancery Court

DOVER, Del., June 17, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — On June 14, 2019, Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware volunteers were removed from the Delaware Bar Association’s Bench Brunch where Chancellor Bouchard, who has been a persistent roadblock to Chancery Court reform, served as a panelist for a discussion on “Chancery Changes” and “The Road to Equity.”

The volunteers were passing out literature demanding heightened transparency and accountability to the Chancery Court. Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware, the watchdog group that was created when the Chancery Court forced the sale of TransPerfect—a 5,000-employee company—has committed its efforts to demanding transparency in the Chancery Court’s process. While Bouchard’s quick decisions to move companies to dissolution may create jobs for highly paid lawyers, consultants and accountants, they undermine the State’s pro-business reputation, discouraging prospective businesses from headquartering in Delaware.

In the TransPerfect case, Judge Bouchard handpicked a custodian, Robert Pincus of Skadden Arps, who then proceeded to spend millions of dollars, causing TransPerfect employees to suffer higher premiums in health insurance. Bouchard and Pincus’s spending resulted from a series of unprecedented and illogical rulings forcing Delaware’s first dissolution and forced sale of a successful private company. Two years after the conclusion of this case, bills for the tens of millions of dollars involved are still under seal “to protect the sale process,” which has long been over. In TransPerfect, Bouchard and Pincus set a precedent that can now be enforced against other businesses in the future.

“The blatant disregard for our volunteer’s freedom of speech is unacceptable and reflects the Chancery Court’s resistance against this campaign for transparency and accountability,” said Miranda Wessinger, President of Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware. “We will not allow these actions to discourage our efforts to protect Delaware’s pro-business reputation. The current Chancery Court, and most specifically Chancellor Bouchard, are hindering the state’s ability to attract and retain Fortune 500 companies with what has become a runaway corruption train. It must stop.”

Delaware is home to tens of thousands of corporations and other business entities. These companies and their employees deserve a fair, transparent system of dispute resolution and mediation. The Chancery Court’s overextension of power is fracturing the trust that large businesses have in Delaware, and with it, Delaware’s tax base.

Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware is a group made up of more than 2,700 members including employees of the global translation services company TransPerfect, as well as concerned Delaware residents, business executives and others. They formed in April of 2016 to focus on raising awareness with Delaware residents, elected officials, and other stakeholders about the issue.

While their primary goal of saving the company has been accomplished, they continue their efforts to fight for more transparency in the Delaware Chancery Court. For more information on Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware or to join the cause, visit DelawareForBusiness.org

The wave of public opinion demanding that Chancellor Bouchard be held accountable, for what I and many others view as illicit activity, is transforming into a full-blown tsunami. Below, I have chosen 10 recent responses to share with you, but I could be sharing 100.

As you will read below, the groundswell of Delaware citizens who are writing to me about being fed up with Bouchard seemingly feathering the nest of his former law partners at Skadden Arps and other cronies, have reached a fever pitch. What seems to be bothering them most is the perception that his personal patriarchy has profited for too long at the expense of Delaware corporations, Delaware taxpayers, and Delaware’s now tarnished image. Chancellor Bouchard’s actions have convinced me (and many of my readers) that he seems to lack the ethical character required for the job, to put it mildly.

My readers are expressing outrage in droves, and are all Delaware voters. I wonder how long the elected members of our General Assembly can continue to turn a blind eye to the public’s demand for anti-corruption and transparency controls to be placed on the Chancery Court?!?

Recently, Delaware’s “Judge Evil” (as I like to call him), the Chancellor, ordered yet another successful company dissolved for “dysfunction”. In laymen’s terms this appears to simply be executives fighting on email. So Delaware corporations likely should worry if they happen to write an email the Chancellor may find concerning. Heck, he could decide to take out a company, dissolve it, or sell it off subjectively any time he feels the urge! Funny how much Skadden and/or his other cronies seem to profit when this happens??

Bouchard’s pattern of illogical and unprecedented decisions, enriching his “Good Old Boy” network of elites, now includes Inspirion Delivery Services, LLC. In my recent article titled “Delaware Chancellor Bouchard Orders Another Delaware Corporation Dissolved-Bad for Business”, I pointed out Bouchard’s most recent act of judicial over-reach, further inequities of his seemingly capricious decision-making, and his seemingly blatant hubris resulting in grotesque appearances of what appears to be impropriety.

As it turned out, this piece resonated deeply with you, my dear readers. The TransPerfect case — where millions of dollars in invoices are still being hidden by Bouchard’s apparent abuse of power, now has Delaware citizens fervently demanding reform.

I appreciate your feedback so much, and the only thing I appreciate more, is your zeal in calling for legislative reform. The people have spoken: They are saying in so many words: “The unchecked power of Bouchard’s Chancery Court is unconstitutional and bad for Delaware business.” Now, they must be heard in Dover!

Again, I have received countless responses; here are 10 samples, but they are reflective of a greater anti-corruption and transparency movement by my readers. I have removed my readers’ last names for their protection because in my opinion the “Good Old Boy” patriarchy that runs Delaware is a powerful and vengeful bunch.

Thank you for your feedback! Keep ’em coming.