Plaintiff's declaratory judgment action did present an actual case or controversy by pleading actual harm and the significant possibility of future harm.

The plaintiff filed an action for declaratory judgment, breach of contract and bad faith with the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, Eastern Division. The defendant insurer filed a motion to dismiss all three counts. The court held it was premature to dismiss the plaintiff's claims for breach of contract and bad faith since the complaint contained "enough" to give the defendant fair notice of both claims and the grounds for those claims. The court also denied the defendant's claim that there was no actual case or controversy to support the declaratory judgment action since the plaintiff had pleaded actual harm (refusal of claims), as well as the significant possibility of future harm (potential denial of future claims).

Case Law Alert, 1st Qtr 2012