Court Opinion

ID: 9660065
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-23 22:02:46.954281+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:14:14.277756
License: Public Domain

STEPHENSON, Justice,
dissenting.
The majority opinion ignores the most significant aspect of this entire proceeding; that is, an abuse of the Declaratory Judgment Act, KRS 418.020. This act requires that a real controversy exist. There is none here. The issue here is a theoretical argument about the nature of the natural gas stored in Texas American’s reservoirs. Texas American requested and received an opinion that the gas is personal property and thus subject to a security interest. Citizens Fidelity argues the natural gas is real property although it may consider it anyway it wishes for the purpose of lending money. The majority view is not binding on Citizens Fidelity in any respect. This court has, therefore, delivered an advisory opinion without any reference to a long-standing policy against such opinions.
Hammonds, Central Kentucky Natural Gas, and Smallwood are so different in factual situations that the only justification for citing them is to emphasize that difference. To reach the result of this advisory opinion which binds neither of the parties, nothing in the three cases is overruled.
Accordingly, I dissent.