Delaware court: an owner portal satisfies the records-inspection duty, and volunteer directors are immune
Delaware court: an owner portal satisfies the records-inspection duty, and volunteer directors are immune
2026-08-22 · Delaware · Courts
A Superior Court decision arising from a condominium building New Castle County declared unsafe has produced four rules Delaware associations will use far more often than the facts that generated them — on volunteer immunity, on manager liability, on what satisfies the records-inspection duty, and on when legal fees may be charged to an owner's account.
Newton v. LeParc Condominium Association, Premier Community Association Management, LLC, and Edgar, C.A. No. N24C-02-008 KMM, was decided by Judge Kathleen M. Miller on April 7, 2026. Summary judgment was granted in part and denied in part.1
What happened
An owner held units in a LeParc building with known structural deficiencies. He made changes to his unit. New Castle County subsequently declared the building UNSAFE and barred occupancy.
He sued the association, its management company and the council chairman, over attorneys' fees charged to his account, over being denied access to meeting minutes, and over the locks being changed.
Volunteer board members are shielded by statute
The first holding is one many Delaware directors do not know they have. Delaware's Volunteer Immunity Statute, 10 Del. C. § 8133, shields an uncompensated council member from civil damages for negligent acts in connection with the organisation's activity. Only willful and wanton or grossly negligent conduct falls outside it.
The chairman, who had taken no action outside his board role, got summary judgment on that basis. The court also observed that the business judgment rule answers fiduciary claims — and that fiduciary claims are “quintessential equitable claims,” which is to say they belong in the Court of Chancery, not here.
A property manager is not the one who assessed the fees
The management company also won. As agent for a disclosed principal it is not liable for charges assessed by the association; it takes direction from the council. An owner unhappy with an assessment has a claim against the association, not against the company that mailed the invoice.
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- An owner portal can satisfy § 81-318
- Legal-fee charges must be traced to authority and to cause
- The self-help claim failed for a structural reason
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