Forsythe v. ESC Fund Management Co., C.A. No. 1091-VCL (Apr. 21, 2010), read letter decision here.

This short letter decision emphasized a truism recognized in prior Delaware decisions that the Court of Chancery will not allow an expert to opine on matters of Delaware law, especially including matters related to the fiduciary duties of directors. In this regard, the Court ruled that an expert would not be entitled to testify about the custom and practice in the financial services business in the context of applicable industry standards such as those of the Financial Industry Regulatory Association.

Such proposed testimony, in the view of the Court, would be: “actually . . . opinions concerning legal issues governed by Delaware law.” Thus, to that extent, the Court granted a motion to strike the report and to preclude the testimony of the particular expert that was proposing that testimony. In essence, the Court is saying that it is the final arbiter of what Delaware law is, and no "outside expert" is needed on that topic.