Huggins v. Benson, K24C-03-020 NEP

Chad Huggins (Plaintiff) filed an action for ejectment and damages under 10 Del. C. § 6701, alleging he holds legal title to a property from which he is out of possession.
Andrea Benson (Defendant) filed an amended answer and asserted counterclaims, conceding at oral argument that Huggins is the record owner.
Plaintiff moved for partial summary judgment on the ejectment issue; Defendant moved to transfer her equitable counterclaims and defenses to the Delaware Court of Chancery.
Plaintiff’s complaint included a deed evidencing legal title; Defendant did not challenge the validity of the title but asserted equitable grounds for possession.
Superior Court had previously denied a motion to transfer the entire action, clarifying it couldn’t hear purely equitable claims but didn’t dismiss them.
The Court granted Plaintiff’s motion for partial summary judgment (on ejectment) but emphasized the ruling is interlocutory, pending a future bench trial on damages and final order.

Issue	Plaintiff’s Argument	Defendant’s Argument	Held
Entitlement to summary judgment on ejectment	Clearly holds title; no fact dispute	Possession claim based on equitable rights	Summary judgment granted (interlocutory)
Whether equitable defenses/counterclaims may be heard in ejectment	Not legal defenses; not for Superior Ct.	Equitable claims should be transferred	Transfer denied without prejudice
Effect of the interlocutory decision	Title resolved, but no immediate possession	Decision not final, so no transfer yet	Ruling is not final; both sides must wait
Jurisdiction over equitable counterclaims	Superior Court cannot hear them	Chancery should handle equitable counterclaims	Superior Court lacks jurisdiction now

Moore v. Sizemore, 405 A.2d 679 (Del. 1979) (summary judgment standard in Delaware courts)
Nelson v. Russo, 844 A.2d 301 (Del. 2004) (elements of ejectment action under Delaware law)