(a) Summary proceedings actions shall be assigned by the President Judge to a Judge of the Summary Proceedings for Commercial Disputes Panel (hereinafter the “Panel”). The Panel shall be appointed by the President Judge from the Judges of the Superior Court.
Rule 125.1.Summary proceedings for Commercial Disputes Panel
Part XV: Rules Governing Actions Subject to Summary Proceedings for Commercial Disputes · Last amended April 1, 1998 · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceRule 125.1 has the President Judge assign every Summary Proceeding to a judge on the Summary Proceedings for Commercial Disputes Panel, a standing group of Superior Court judges whose current membership the Prothonotary's Office keeps on file for the public.
Full Text of Rule 125.1
(b) A current list identifying the Judges of the Panel shall be maintained in the Prothonotary’s Office and shall be provided to members of the public upon request.
Amendment History
Added, effective Apr. 1, 1998.
Plain-English Summary
Rule 125.1 is short, and it does one job: it tells the Court who decides Summary Proceedings cases. The President Judge assigns each action to a judge on the Panel — the Summary Proceedings for Commercial Disputes Panel — and the President Judge appoints the Panel's members from the Superior Court's own judges.
The rule builds in transparency too. The Prothonotary's Office keeps a current list of the judges who sit on the Panel, and anyone from the public can ask for it. A litigant deciding whether to consent to Summary Proceedings, or trying to understand who will hear the case, doesn't have to guess.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who decides a Summary Proceedings case in Delaware Superior Court?
A judge assigned by the President Judge from the Summary Proceedings for Commercial Disputes Panel, a group of Superior Court judges the President Judge appoints.
How do I find out which judges sit on the Panel?
Rule 125.1(b) requires the Prothonotary's Office to keep a current list and provide it to any member of the public who asks.
Does Rule 125.1 create a separate court?
No. The Panel is made up of judges of the Superior Court itself; the rule directs how the President Judge assigns Summary Proceedings cases among them.
Can any Superior Court judge be assigned to the Panel?
The President Judge appoints the Panel from the Judges of the Superior Court, and Rule 125.1 doesn't limit that appointment power beyond naming the President Judge as the one who makes it.
Source & verification. Rule text is reproduced verbatim from the
Delaware Rules of Civil Procedure for the Superior Court, adopted by the
Superior Court of the State of Delaware. Last verified July 28, 2026.
· Official source
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