Watson v. Sansone

¶1I concur in the affirmance of the judgment of dismissal and the reversal of the order which vacated and set aside the dismissal. I disagree with the conclusion that the question is jurisdictional. I believe that the entertainment of a suit for declaratory relief is a matter within the discretion of the court (Code Civ. Proc., § 1061),1 and that it was no abuse of discretion to refuse to entertain a suit for declaratory relief under the circumstances alleged in the complaint. The trial court properly so ruled in upholding the demurrer. The plaintiff has not attempted to amend his original cause of action, but merely attempted to buttress it by the addition of a new second cause of action for deceit. Since the court had properly refused to entertain the declaratory relief action, and judgment had been entered on that ruling, there was no warrant for reopening the proceedings for a new cause of action, and the court erred in doing so.

¶2With all due respect to the learned writer of the opinion in Bachis v. State Farm Mutual Auto. Ins. Co. (1968) 265 Cal.App.2d 722 [71 Cal.Rptr. 486], I do not believe a superseded opinion and dictum in Brix v. Peoples Mut. Life Ins. Co. (1935) 2 Cal.2d 446 [41 P.2d 537] sustain the principle that there is no jurisdiction in the superior court to determine whether or not declaratory relief should be granted under given circumstances. The court indicated in its final opinion: “It is first contended by appellant that the court had no jurisdiction of either of the causes of action *6as set forth in plaintiff’s complaint. This contention we think must be sustained.” (2 Cal.2d at p. 448.) Reference to the opinion reveals that the second cause of action was referred to as one which “purports to state a cause of action for declaratory relief under section 1060 of the Code of Civil Procedure.” (Id.) In the earlier opinion the court had concluded, “The cause of action set forth in plaintiff’s second count of the complaint can be regarded in no other light than simply an action to recover the several amounts due on the policy of insurance sued on, and, as the aggregate of these amounts was less than $2,000, the exclusive jurisdiction of said action was in the municipal court of the city and county of San Francisco.” (37 P.2d at p. 450.) Since in Brixthe court finally did approve jurisdiction because of the issues raised by the defendant’s answer and cross-complaint, it was not necessary to analyze when an action of declaratory relief may be maintained or whether the question is one of jurisdiction or discretion. For the reasons stated in the superseded opinion in Brix, it would be an abuse of discretion to entertain an action for declaratory relief on a matured cause of action for an amount less than the jurisdictional amount of the superior court, just because there were further allegations seeking “a declaration of rights or duties.” (See also Bachis v. State Farm Mutual Auto. Ins. Co., supra, 265 Cal.App.2d 722, 728; Travers v. Louden (1967) 254 Cal.App.2d 926, 929-932 [62 Cal.Rptr. 654]; and Norager v. Mountain States Life Ins. Co. (1935) 10 Cal.App.2d 188, 192-193 [51 P.2d 443]; and cf. Mascarin Professional Pharmacy v. Hart (1970) 13 Cal.App.3d 462, 464-465 [91 Cal.Rptr. 560].)

¶3In this case it is the debtor not the creditor who seeks a declaration of his rights and duties. It cannot be said that plaintiff has a cause of action for consequential relief which he can assert in the same or another forum. (Cf. Kessloff v. Pearson (1951) 37 Cal.2d 609, 613 [233 P.2d 899].) Nevertheless, for the reasons set forth in the majority opinion the trial court properly exercised its discretion under section 1061 of the Code of Civil Procedure, and the judgment thereafter entered was a final disposition of the matter. I am not prepared to say that in every case the obligor who is in doubt concerning the extent of his duties and who desires to proceed lawfully may not take the initiative by filing an action under section 1060. “The purpose of a declaratory judgment is ‘to serve some practical end in quieting or stabilizing an uncertain or disputed jural relation.’ [Citations.]” (Maguire v. Hibernia S. & L. Soc. (1944) 23 Cal.2d 719, 729 [146 P.2d 673, 151 A.L.R. 1062]. See also Columbia Pictures Corp. v. DeToth (1945) 26 Cal.2d 753, 760 [161 P.2d 217, 162 A.L.R. 747].) There well may be circumstances under which the superior court could entertain an action for declaratory relief brought by an obligor against an *7obligee even though the amount in controversy is within the monetary jurisdiction of an inferior court.2