17 Del. C. § 511
This is the official text of 17 Del. C. § 511, part of Delaware’s Del. C — part of the compiled statutory law of Delaware, published by the state as "Del. C." Browse the sections below, each linked to its official government source.
Not legal advice. This page reproduces the official text of a government statute for reference only. Laws change, and how a statute applies depends on your specific facts. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.
§ Â 511. Injury to roads and bridges; double damages; jurisdiction of courts; procedure and appeal.
Official statutory text
(a) Whoever negligently or wilfully injures or damages any public road, bridge or drain, or any gate, light or other appurtenance maintained and used for the convenience or safety of the traveling public in connection with such road, bridge or drain shall forfeit and pay double damages therefor. If a public road, bridge, drain, gate, light, or other appurtenance is on or along a “Delaware byway,” as defined in § 101 of this title, an additional civil mandatory penalty of $500 must be added to the amount of double damages.
(b) Action for the recovery of such damages, where the road, bridge, drain or other appurtenance is under the jurisdiction and control of the Department, shall be brought in the name of the State, and all money recovered thereby shall be paid to the State Treasurer.
(c) Justices of the peace, the Court of Common Pleas and the Superior Court shall have concurrent jurisdiction of actions under this section, provided that the jurisdiction of justices of the peace shall be limited to cases where the double damage shall not exceed $2,500, and the jurisdiction of the Court of Common Pleas shall be limited to cases where the double damages shall not exceed the sum of $15,000.
(d) In actions before Justices of the Peace, the procedure shall be the same as is provided for actions of trespass before Justices of the Peace, with the right of appeal to the Court of Common Pleas, and, in actions before the Court of Common Pleas, the right of appeal to the Superior Court shall be preserved.
(b) Action for the recovery of such damages, where the road, bridge, drain or other appurtenance is under the jurisdiction and control of the Department, shall be brought in the name of the State, and all money recovered thereby shall be paid to the State Treasurer.
(c) Justices of the peace, the Court of Common Pleas and the Superior Court shall have concurrent jurisdiction of actions under this section, provided that the jurisdiction of justices of the peace shall be limited to cases where the double damage shall not exceed $2,500, and the jurisdiction of the Court of Common Pleas shall be limited to cases where the double damages shall not exceed the sum of $15,000.
(d) In actions before Justices of the Peace, the procedure shall be the same as is provided for actions of trespass before Justices of the Peace, with the right of appeal to the Court of Common Pleas, and, in actions before the Court of Common Pleas, the right of appeal to the Superior Court shall be preserved.
Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site
Need a lawyer in Delaware?
Find a Delaware lawyer
About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the
Open US Law dataset
(Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine
(Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.