The Delaware Court of Chancery will implement automated ‘wheelspin’ case assignments beginning September. (Photo by Photo by Tingey Injury Law Firm)
The Delaware Court of Chancery will introduce a new automated case assignment system, known as “wheelspin,” on September 15, 2025.
The changes, part of a broader upgrade to the court’s electronic filing system, are designed to streamline case management, balance workloads among judges, and remove discretion from the case assignment process.
Among the updates, the court will replace its Supplemental Information Sheet with a graphical user interface featuring drop-down menus. The goal is to generate more uniform, accurate, and accessible data to help the court monitor case trends.
“We also hope that the electronic format will make new filings easier for filers,” said Chancellor Kathaleen St. J. McCormick.
The updates also bring a new, narrower definition of “related cases”: “cases are related if they arise from the same factual predicate or transaction and involve overlapping companies or parties.” This change means that a case will not automatically be assigned to a judge who previously handled litigation involving a defendant corporation unless the new matter stems from the “same factual predicate or transaction.”
Categories previously handled by Magistrate Judges, such as books and records and advancement actions, will remain with them. A Standing Order also allows certain contract disputes to be sent to Superior Court Judges in the Complex Commercial Litigation Division.
“The current assignment system resulted from a collaborative pilot program spearheaded by Vice Chancellor Morgan T. Zurn. I am grateful for her leadership on this matter,” said Chancellor McCormick.
The procedural overhaul has been welcomed by Citizens for Judicial Fairness, which has long pushed for randomized case assignments in the Court of Chancery.
Delaware Speaker of the House Rep. Melissa Minor-Brown, who has supported the shift to automated assignments, added:
“Fairness and justice are the guiding principles of our judicial system, but we can’t fully uphold them by standing still. We have to continually look at how innovation and improved systems can move us forward. Bringing wheelspin, or automated randomized case assignments, to our courts will improve their operations and ensure they remain a beacon of fairness.”
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