"[A] declaratory judgment action generally cannot be maintained unless it involves some specific adversary question or controversy asserted by interested parties and based on an existing state of facts, and a declaration of rights must be refused if the issue presented to the court is academic, theoretical, or based upon a contingency which may or may not arise."
How later courts described this case
- "[A] declaratory judgment action generally cannot be maintained unless it involves some specific adversary question or controversy asserted by interested parties and based on an existing state of facts, and a declaration of rights must be refused if the issue presented to the court is academic, theoretical, or based upon a contingency which may or may not arise."
- discussing LSA-R.S. 48:27 (West 1965)
Written by the judges who cited it.
The opinion
HAMITER, Justice
(concurring).
Initially, and until the action taken by ús' on; the. application for a rehearing, this cause did present a justiciable .controversy with -respect to the questions of whether, the Department .of Highways is a corporate, entity separate and distinct from the State of Louisiana and, as such, whether it may. issue bonds which would not constitute an indebtedness of "the state. Thus, had we decreed to be constitutional 'Act 5 of 1954 (it authorized'the issuance by such'Department of--bonds-that purportedly did not constitute an indebtedness of the state) a determina- ■ tion of the mentioned questions would have' been necessary. However, we declared.' such statute to be violative of Section 22 of Article 6 of the Louisiana Constitution and, later, refused the application for a rehear-ing as to that issue, the result of all of' which was that the remaining two questions became moot and, hence, a consideration and a resolution thereof were not required.
I respectfully concur.