Pasado's Safe Haven v. State

¶1 For a declaratory judgment action to state a justiciable claim, the judicial relief sought must be of a type such that it would finally and conclusively resolve the dispute between the parties. Where this is not so, the court strays into the prohibited practice of issuing an advisory opinion when it addresses the merits of the parties’ contentions. In this case, the relief sought — a judicial declaration invalidating the challenged statute, the Washington humane slaughter of livestock act, chapter 16.50 RCW, only in part — is not obtainable. Conversely, were plaintiffs to prevail on any…