Opinion ID: 2207646
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Partition Proceedings Origin and Purpose

Text: Partition was an equitable remedy under English law and retains that character under Delaware law. 25 Del.C. § 751. Partition developed originally under the English common law as a remedy to co-parceners. See generally 4A Powell, The Law of Real Property ¶ 607[3] (Rohan, ed. 1993). The purpose of partition was to permit co-tenants to sever concurrent undivided interests in the same real property. Id. As the common law evolved, the equitable remedy of partition was extended to joint tenants and tenants in common. Id. Delaware, like most states, has enacted a partition statute. 25 Del.C. § 701 et seq. See 4 Thompson, Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real Property § 1822, at 277 (1979). The Delaware partition statute is substantially a codification of the common law: [T]he ancient jurisdiction of the court of chancery to order partition between tenants in common is not affected by the statute law of the state, where, in adjudicating between parties holding joint interests in law, it will promote the several interests of the litigants that partition should be made. Bradford v. Robinson, Del.Err. & App., 30 A. 670, 672 (1884) (emphasis added).