California Court of Appeal, Fox Paine & Company, LLC v. Twin City Fire Insurance Company, A168803

Declaratory Relief

 

California Law

 

 

 

By way of brief background, the trial court discussed the law of declaratory relief in its analysis of Twin City’s demurrer, beginning with this observation: “The court may sustain a demurrer on the ground that the complaint fails to allege an actual or present controversy, or that it is not ‘justiciable.’ The court may also sustain a demurrer without leave to amend if it determines that a judicial declaration is not ‘necessary or proper at the time under all the circumstances,’” citing DeLaura v. Beckett (2006) 137 Cal.App.4th 542, 545 and Wilson v. Transit Authority (1962) 199 Cal.App.2d 716, 721. Indeed. Code of Civil Procedure section 1060 provides in pertinent part that declaratory relief is proper as to a contract “in cases of actual controversy relating to the legal rights and duties of the respective parties.” But even if such “actual controversy” is established, Code of Civil Procedure section 1061 goes on to state that a court “may refuse to exercise the power” to grant declaratory relief “in any case where its declaration or determination is not necessary or proper at the time under all the circumstances. ”As our Supreme Court has observed, Code of Civil Procedure sections 1060 and 1061 “must be read together” (Meyer v. Sprint Spectrum L.P. (2009) 45 Cal.4th 634, 647), going on to hold that “when resolution of the controversy over future remedies would have little practical effect in terms of altering parties' behavior, courts have considerable discretion, pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 1061, to deny declaratory relief because it ‘is not necessary or proper at the time under all the circumstances.’ ” (Id. at p. 648.)

 

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“The object of the declaratory relief statute is to afford a new form of relief where needed and not to furnish a litigant with a second cause of action for the determination of identical issues.” (General of America Insurance Co. v. Lilly (1968) 258 Cal.App.2d 465, 470.) “The availability of another form of relief that is adequate will usually justify refusal to grant declaratory relief.” (Girard v. Miller (1963) 214 Cal.App.2d 266, 277.)

 

 

 

California Court of Appeal, Sept. 5, 2024, Fox Paine & Company, LLC v. Twin City Fire Insurance Company, A168803, Certified for Publication)