I Do Declare

For those of you with a litigation track record, you know how long and drawn out the process can be. The courts are back-logged and recently suffered significant budget cuts, lawyers carry large caseloads to meet their billable hour requirements and can't get everything done when you want or need it and your opponent is trying to slow things down simply as a strategy to wear you down.

In many instances, the law does not acknowledge these impediments now considered built-in aspects of the system. In one instance, however, it does - the declaratory judgment action.

Unlike your ordinary lawsuit for damages, the declaratory judgment action asks the courts to declare what the parties' respective rights or obligations are under a particular contract or statute where there is a doubt. As a matter of law, these actions are supposed to move faster through the system than other suits and, if you don't tie them to damages claims, should be resolved more economically. In fact, declaratory judgment suits are supposed to be resolved on an expedited basis.

The perfect scenario for the declaratory judgment suit is your good old insurance policy. You say you have coverage for a particular situation, your insurance company says you do not. You sue simply for a declaration from the court as to whether coverage does or does not exist. Pretty simple. Of course, you can use the declaratory judgment action to resolve any instance where the parties are in doubt as to their particular rights or obligations under any contract or statute. You will see this kind of suit often involving tax issues and real estate contracts.

So, don't despair. Just because you find yourself in a dispute does not mean that you are always in for the long-haul civil litigation route.