In Vichi v. Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V., C.A. No. 2578-VCP (Del. Ch. Nov. 28, 2012), the Delaware Court of Chancery issued a 65-page decision that applies Dutch, Italian, English and Delaware law in the context of granting in part, and denying in part, a summary judgment motion. A prior 55-page Chancery decision in this case was highlighted on these pages here.

Issues addressed: Unjust Enrichment; Breach of Implied or Oral Contract under Italian law; Breach of Fiduciary Duty under Dutch law; Fraud under Italian law;  English Statute of Frauds; as well as Fraud under Delaware law; and Delaware’s “Borrowing Statute” (which determines the applicable statute of limitations when a cause of action arises outside of Delaware but litigation is brought in Delaware).

This carefully written opinion deserves a more extensive summary, but due to the somewhat esoteric topics and mostly “non-Delaware law” applied, I will confine myself in this short blurb, at least for the time-being, to the following point of Delaware law that applies when a party is seeking to ask the court to decide a case based on foreign law:

The party seeking the application of foreign law has the burden of not only raising the issue that foreign law applies, but also the burden of adequately proving the substance of the foreign law. (See  footnote 112).