Opinion ID: 2447668
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Delaware Law Analysis

Text: Delaware courts recognize the validity of general releases. [32] A clear and unambiguous release will [only] be set aside where there is fraud, duress, coercion, or mutual mistake concerning the existence of a party's injuries. [33] In determining whether the release is ambiguous, the intent of the parties is controlling as to the scope and effect of the release. [34] It must appear that the plaintiff, or a reasonable person in the place of the plaintiff, understood the terms of the release. [35] A court determines the parties' intent from the overall language of the document. [36] The Officers signed an employment agreement, which plainly stated: [t]he Employee understands and accepts the fact that he or she will be exposed to dangers due to the nature of the mission. [37] The next sentence clearly discusses the possibility of death, injury, and disability while limiting the employer's liability to the coverage stated in the subsequent sentence. [38] Finally, in the last sentence of the liability clause, the employee agrees to accept the insurance benefits as  full satisfaction  of  any claim  for  death, injury, or disability against Employer and its affiliates. [39] In this short, four sentence liability clause, the Officers were told they would be exposed to dangers due to the nature of the mission [40] and they were told twice that death, injury, and disability were likely possibilities. The limitation on liability provision at issue here, where the Officers agreed to accept insurance benefits in exchange for a release, is more akin to a workers' compensation relationship. If the Officers died or were injured during the course of their employment in Delaware, Delaware's Workers' Compensation Law (insurance to which an employer must subscribe) would have provided an exclusive remedy based upon a schedule regardless of the question of negligence and to the exclusion of all other rights and remedies. [41] Similarly, the employment agreement here states that each Officer agrees that neither Employer nor its affiliates will be liable in the event of death, injury, or disability and that [t]he Employee agrees to accept [the] insurance benefits as full satisfaction of any claim for death, injury, or disability against Employer and its affiliates. [42] We therefore hold that the language of the employment contract is clear and unambiguous. [43] The overall language of the agreement implicates a risk shifting arrangement similar to workers' compensation arrangements. The Officers agreed to waive their right to sue their employer and affiliates in the event of death, injury, or disability for any claims related to the mission.