Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

Your job: Give all facts. I can't read your mind. I, and/or one or more other LawGuru volunteer attorneys, will decide what facts are relevant. Once upon a time you entered into a contract with someone. Where did you get this contract. What does it say. What are your duties under the contract. What are his duties under the contract. What documents are you supposed to provide him, and what software system are you supposed to check. Is there a pending lawsuit, who filed it, is he represented by an attorney. Anything and everything else.

I'm not sure there are any additional facts needed to answer your direct question - which as I understand it is basically a question about the nature of a declaratory relief action. Declaratory relief actions can be used in a variety of ways. If you want a full explanation of it in RELATIVELY easy to understand language, visit your county law library and ask the librarian to help you find either the Witkin California Proceedure article, or the Cal.Jur.3d article, on Declaratory Judgment. Witkin and Cal.Jur. are basically like an Encyclopedia Brittanica of California law. In most cases, however, it really is a throw-away cause of action that lawyers plead to "cover all the bases" when they either file a breach of contract action or an action for specific performance of a contract.

Stand-alone declaratory judgment cases are very rare, and even less commonly really appropriate. They are technically appropriate where one party contends a contract is completed, and the other contends it is not or that the first party breached it somehow. In that case it is really just a preemptive strike against a breach of contract lawsuit by the second party. While technically appropriate, it really is not very practical. First, there is rarely any good reason to file a lawsuit over a contract you do not contend is breached, rather than waiting to see if the other side will really file or just give up. Why get into litigation before you know it is necessary? Plus, you shift the burden of proof from them to yourself, by being the plaintiff.

The other situation where it is appropriate is where there is a long term ongoing contract and a conflict arises over interpretation of the contract and/or whether it is being performed as agreed. Neither party claims a complete breach or cancellation of the contract, but they need a judicial determination of the terms of the contract and obligations of performance. This is the only REALLY appropriate situation in which a stand-alone declaratory judgment case would be filed.

It sounds like you are in the first situation, but maybe not. If the other person claims you have failed to perform, and has not paid you, and you claim you have fully performed, you would file a breach of contract action, not declaratory relief. One element of a breach of contract action in California is that the plaintiff must plead and prove they have performed all obligations on their part under the contract except those that were excused or rendered impossible due to the breach. So if you think about it, you see that the declaratory judgment about your performance is really embedded in the breach of contract cause of action. That is the situation where attorneys plead it just to cover their bases, but it really is meaningless.

If your contract has been fully performed by both sides, and the other party is now claiming you breached it by failing to do certain things, then a declaratory judgment action would be appropriate, technically. As I explained before, however, it would not make much sense. The same issues are raised if they sue you, but they may not, and if they do, it is better to have the burden of proof on them not you. So why start the fight, especially when it shifts the burden to you?