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IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE RIVERBEND COMMUNITY, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, and FOX CHASE REALTY, LLC, Plaintiffs Below, Appellants, v. GREEN STONE ENGINEERING, LLC a Delaware limited liability company and BRUCE JONES, Defendants Below, Appellees. ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

No. 236, 2012 Court Below: Superior Court of the State of Delaware in and for New Castle County C.A. No. N10C-07-042

Submitted: September 26, 2012 Decided: October 17, 2012 Before STEELE, Chief Justice, HOLLAND and RIDGELY, Justices. Upon appeal from the Superior Court. AFFIRMED. Adam Balick (argued) and Melony Anderson, Balick & Balick, LLC, Wilmington, Delaware for appellants. Paul Cottrell and Patrick McGrory (argued), Tighe & Cottrell, P.A., Wilmington, Delaware for appellees.

STEELE, Chief Justice:

A subdivision developer signed a release with an engineering company after the completion of design services. We interpret the release as a general release. We do not address the application of the economic loss doctrine. Because we find the release is a general release that unambiguously waives all claims, we AFFIRM the grant of summary judgment below on both the tort and contract claims. I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Riverbend Community, LLC and Parkway Gravel, Inc. jointly owned a parcel of land (the Property), which they intended to develop into residential real estate. In 2004, the previous owner obtained a jurisdictional delineation (JD) from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which identified the federal wetlands on the Property. The 2004 JD depicted the wetlands running across the Causeway, an "elevated section of roadway on the eastern border of the Property [that] provides exclusive access from Route 9 to the Property."1 Before purchasing the Property, Riverbend2 and Green Stone Engineering, LLC signed the August 2005 Contract, which required Green Stone to perform four tasks: (1) Site Evaluation and Regulatory Review, (2) Wetlands Restoration

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Opening Br. 8.

Fox Chase Realty, LLC initially contracted with Green Stone because Riverbend was not yet formed; Joseph L. Capano majority-owns both entities. Opening Br. 5. For simplicity, we will refer to all actions taken by either entity as those of Riverbend. 2

Conceptual Design, (3) Wetland Enhancement Conceptual Layout, and (4) Regulatory Meetings and Presentation.3 In March 2006, the parties signed a

second contract, the March 2006 Contract, which required Green Stone to provide design services for the site and roadways, the stormwater collection and conveyance systems, the sanitary sewer system, the water supply piping system, the stormwater management plans, the sediment and erosion control plans, and the landscape plans.4 Pursuant to these contracts, Green Stone subcontracted with JCM Environmental, Inc. to flag additional federal waters and wetlands on the Property. Green Stone also prepared and submitted plans to various city and county agencies that depicted wetland areas north and south of the Causeway. Unfortunately, the plans did not indicate that the wetlands were connected and that any construction on the Causeway might interfere with protected wetlands. Relying on Green Stone's depictions, Riverbend proceeded to move earth and grade roadways along the Causeway. Green Stone left the project in late 2007. Riverbend hired a new engineering firm to complete the work, but the new firm needed Green Stone's work product. Green Stone would not release its work product unless Joseph Capano, on behalf
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App. to Opening Br. A009

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