The Complex Commercial Litigation Division of Delaware’s Superior Court recently issued a ruling on a motion for summary judgment that, while nominally addressing the application of the statute of limitations to dismiss claims related to the escheatment of shares of stock to the state of Delaware, provides lessons for investors about the level of attention and diligence they should apply to managing their financial affairs. In Saunders v. Lightwave Logic, C.A. No. N23C-05-120 (Oct. 17, 2024), Judge Paul Wallace was faced with a factual scenario that would appear capable of repetition—and often—that ultimately ended with a stockholder’s shares in Lightwave Logic being escheated to the state and sold, despite the reality that the plaintiff’s stock certificate was safely ensconced in a home safe.

The plaintiff purchased his 55,000 shares of Lightwave stock in 2013 and received them in the mail at his then-current address. Within a year of purchasing the shares, however, the plaintiff moved and did not inform Lightwave of his new address—although mail going to the previous address was forwarded by the postal service for “at least a year.” The discovery record in the litigation showed that the plaintiff “monitored his Lightwave shares via Google and through occasional country club chats with individuals, including a former Lightwave board member, Lightwave’s CEO, and Lightwave’s COO.” The court noted that “there is no record of the plaintiff taking any further action regarding his Lightwave share at any point from 2013 to 2021.”