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The 1988 Deed
On December 29, 1988, petitioners executed and recorded in the
Office of the Recorder of Deeds for Sussex County a special
warranty deed (the 1988 deed), which purportedly transferred the
1988 gift land to the State of Delaware. (At this time, the State
court action was in the discovery phase, and settlement discussions
had not begun.) Petitioners did not submit the 1988 deed to any
State of Delaware official in 1988, other than to the Sussex County
Recorder of Deeds, who did not have discretion to reject or not
record the deed. Between 1988 and November 1991, the State neither
knew of nor accepted any gift from petitioners.
On November 11, 1991, petitioners' attorney, Mark D. Olson,
submitted a letter to Edwin H. Clark II, Secretary of the Delaware
Department of Natural Resources, transmitting a copy of the 1988
deed. This was the first time the "gift" was officially brought to
the State's attention. However, the State rejected the attempted
gift in accordance with its position in the State court action.
1992 Settlement Agreement and Dismissal of the State Court Action
Following lengthy settlement negotiations, the State court
action was resolved pursuant to an April 15, 1992, Settlement
Agreement (the agreement). Pursuant to the agreement, petitioners
conveyed to the Nature Conservancy,2 which immediately conveyed to
2 The Nature Conservancy was a nonprofit environmental
preservation organization with its principal office in Arlington,
Virginia.
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Last modified: May 25, 2011