A declaratory judgment is a binding judgment from a court defining the legal relationship between parties and their rights in a matter before the court. When there is uncertainty as to the legal obligations or rights between two parties, a declaratory judgment offers an immediate means to resolve this uncertainty.
A plaintiff could ask a judge to make a declaratory judgment about almost anything, including interpreting an unclear clause in a contract, determining the rights of the insured under an insurance policy, determining who is a beneficiary under a last will and testament, or even deciding who is the rightful owner of ...
Declaratory judgments can provide legal certainty to each party in a matter when this could resolve or assist in a disagreement. Often an early resolution of legal rights will resolve some or all of the other issues in a matter.
Advisory Opinions Versus Declaratory Judgments The only advice on the interpretation of a law or its constitutionality is included in an advisory opinion. On the other hand, a declaratory judgment might be able to assist in bringing about an earlier resolution to the case.
Declaratory relief allows a party who is not certain of his rights to prevent the accrual of avoidable damages and to obtain an adjudication before the parties bring a coercive lawsuit.
An example of a declaratory judgment in an insurance situation may occur when a policyholder and an insurer disagree about whether a particular claim is covered under the insurance policy. For instance, suppose a homeowner files a claim with their insurance company for damages to their home caused by a storm.
A declaratory judgment is a ruling of the court to clarify something (usually a contract provision) that is in dispute. A summary judgment is a ruling that a case or portion of a case must be dismissed because there are no triable issues of material fact in dispute.
A declaratory judgment is typically requested when a party is threatened with a lawsuit but the lawsuit has not yet been filed; or when a party or parties believe that their rights under law and/or contract might conflict; or as part of a counterclaim to prevent further lawsuits from the same plaintiff (for example, ...