Barry v. Ready Reference Pub. Co.
| Decision Date | 10 May 1966 |
| Parties | John E. BARRY, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. The READY REFERENCE PUBLISHING CO., Inc., Defendant-Appellant. |
| Court | New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division |
H. B. Raff, New York City, for plaintiff-respondent.
J. N. Wanshel, Larchmont, for defendant-appellant.
Before BOTEIN, P.J., and BREITEL, RABIN and EAGER, JJ.
Order, entered September 9, 1965, unanimously reversed, on the law, without costs and disbursements to any party, and motion to strike defenses and counterclaims denied, without costs. Under the circumstances, the striking of the defendant's alleged defenses and counterclaims, without a determination on the merits, tends to defeat the proper purpose of this declaratory judgment action, namely, the complete and final settlement of the rights and legal relations of the parties with respect to the matters in controversy. 'The pleadings in a declaratory judgment action are to be liberally construed to effectuate the manifest purpose of the declaratory statute' (1 Anderson, Declaratory Judgments, § 259, p. 610), and the statements in defendant's pleading are 'sufficiently particular to give the court and parties notice of the transactions, occurrences or series of transactions or occurrences, intended to be proved' by the defendant 'and the material elements of' defendant's alleged defenses and counterclaims. (See CPLR 3013.) We noted that, in addition to challenging the sufficiency of the defendant's pleading, the plaintiff's motion to dismiss purported also to be addressed to the alleged lack of merit of its defenses and counterclaims. But the plaintiff's affidavits, directed chiefly to the support of the allegations of his own complaint, lack adequate factual showing bearing on the merits of defendant's alleged defenses and counterclaims; and, on the record here, it appears that the defenses and counterclaims should not have been dismissed as a matter of law.
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Cagnina v. Onondaga County
...220 A.D.2d 383. A Declaratory Judgment may not be had when an "actual controversy" is lacking. Barry v. Ready Reference Publishing Co..25 A.D.2d 827. As a result, the words "justiciable controversy" were added to CPLR §3001 to reflect such past pronouncements of New York courts, and that st......
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...relations and eliminate uncertainty as to the scope and content of present or prospective obligations. (See Barry v. Ready Reference Publishing Co., 25 A.D.2d 827, 269 N.Y.S.2d 665; 3 Weinstein-Korn-Miller, N.Y.Civ.Prac., par. 3001.02.) The CPLR 3001 also provides that the Court "may render......
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Saunders v. State
...or prospective obligations." (New York Civil Practice--Weinstein, Korn & Miller, Vol. 3 § 3001.02; see Barry v. Ready Reference Publishing Co., 25 A.D.2d 827, 269 N.Y.S.2d 665). The aim of a declaratory judgment is to enable a party whose rights, privileges and powers are endangered, threat......