Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani Washington, D.C. attorneys Judith Lysaught and Nicholas Hallenbeck obtained a complete dismissal of a lawsuit seeking a declaratory judgment on an insurance coverage issue, filed against their client, a major sports and media conglomerate, in the Eastern District of Virginia. The plaintiff claimed Gordon & Rees's client was liable for any damages from an underlying accident, despite the absence of any specific underlying claim from the injured individual, other than pursuant to medical payments provision.
Gordon & Rees filed a Motion to Dismiss the claim as premature and not ripe for resolution. After extensive briefing and oral argument, the judge agreed, holding that “this action lack[s] sufficient immediacy and reality to warrant the issuance of a declaratory judgment, and GEICO’s claims for relief are not based on a substantial controversy between the parties having adverse legal interests necessary to meet Article III’s case or controversy requirement.”
As none of the counts set forth by the plaintiff were sustainable, the complaint was dismissed in its entirety.