actual controversy
Definitions from Case Law · United States Supreme Court
Definitions from Case Law
From 300 U.S. 227 - Aetna Life Ins Co of Hartford Conn v. Haworth · 1937Most cited · 6,465 citing opinions
The Declaratory Judgment Act of 1934, in its limitation to 'cases of actual controversy,' manifestly has regard to the constitutional provision and is operative only in respect to controversies which are such in the constitutional sense. The word 'actual' is one of emphasis rather than of definition. Thus the operation of the Declaratory Judgment Act is procedural only.
How the Supreme Court has restated “actual controversy”
Each Supreme Court definition of “actual controversy,” sized by how often later courts cited it. “Change” is measured by wording overlap with earlier definitions — a rough signal, not a semantic judgment.
How often courts cite the cases defining “actual controversy”
Court decisions citing the 3 opinions that defined “actual controversy” — 11,621 in all, by decade. Counts are citations to the defining cases as a whole, not verified uses of the term. The dip in the most recent years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the latest years.
All 3 definitions, chronological · 1937–1958
Basically, the question in each case is whether the facts alleged, under all the circumstances, show that there is a substantial controversy, between parties having adverse legal interests, of sufficient immediacy and reality to warrant the issuance of a declaratory judgment.
Declaratory Judgment Act · construing 28 U.S.C. § 2201
a substantial controversy, between parties having adverse legal interests, of sufficient immediacy and reality to warrant the issuance of a declaratory judgment