On February 1, 1977, defendant-appellee Enola Watson by her guardian, Stephen Watson (Watson), filed a complaint against plaintiffs-appellants Volkswagenwerk, A. G. (Volkswagenwerk), and Volkswagen of America, Inc. (Volkswagen), in the Madison Superior Court, Division Two. The complaint resulted from an automobile collision and was predicated upon the theories of negligence and strict liability. That cause was subsequently removed to the Únited States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana .by Volkswagenwerk, jurisdiction being based on diversity of citizenship.
On July 13, 1977, the District Court ruled that
Evans v. General Motors Corporation,
While Watson’s appeal was pending, the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit rendеred its decision in
Huff v. White Motor Corporation,
The Henry Circuit Court granted Watson’s motion to dismiss and entered judgment on June 26, 1978. The Hancock Circuit Court dismissed Volkswagenwerk’s declaratory judgment complaint 1 and entered judgment on June 28, 1978. Volkswagen-werk and Volkswagen allege error in these *1084 dismissals. The present case is a consolidation of their causes of action for purposes of appeal. Ind. Rules of Procedure, Appellate Rule 5.
The relief sought by Volkswagen and Volkswagenwerk through the declaratory judgment actions involves questions of Indiana substantive law; Volkswagen sought a declаration that the holding in Evans, supra, is the law of Indiana. More specifically, Volkswagen sought a declaration of rights on the following issues:
(1) whether Indiana follows the “crash-worthiness” doctrine, in which one furnishing a motor vehicle has a duty to provide a vehicle which will prevent or minimize injuries to the vehicle’s occupants when involved in a collision;
(2) if a manufacturer has such a duty, is that duty governed by the law of negligence or strict liability;
(3) if the crashworthiness doctrine applies, does the failure to fasten an available seat belt give rise to thе doctrine of avoidable consequences;
and,
(4) does the failure to fasten an available seat belt constitute incurred or assumed risk under Indiana law.
Appellants contend that since a federal district court can only predict undecided Indiana law, thеse questions should be decided by the state courts. Watson, on the other hand, argues that the declaratory judgment actions were properly dismissed, since: (1) it avoids piecemeal adjudication of issues; (2) it prevents “procedural fencing;” and, (3) the declaratory judgment procedure is not properly used in anticipation of defenses. We agree with the latter position, and, thus, affirm.
We note initially that in reviewing a T.R. 12(B)(6) motion to dismiss in an action for declaratory judgment, this court in
Morris et al. v. City of Evansville et al.,
(1979) Ind.App.,
The purpose of a declaratory judgment action and a declaratory judgment statute is to quiet and stabilize legal relations and thereby provide a remedy in a case or controversy when there is still an
*1085
opportunity for peaceable judicial settlement. 1 W. Anderson, Actions for Declaratory Judgments § 187 (2d ed. 1951). The Uniform Declaratory Judgment Act, found at Ind.Code 34-4-10-1,
et seq.,
is remedial in nature, affording relief from uncertainty and insecurity with respect to rights, status, and other legal relations, and is to be liberally construed and administered. IC 34-4-10-12;
Owen v. Fletcher Savings & Trust Bldg. Co.,
(1934)
In determining the propriety of declaratory relief, the test to be applied is whether the issuance of a declaratory judgment will effectively solve the problem, whether it will serve a useful purpose, and whether or not another remedy is more effective or efficient.
Smith v. Vowell,
Since the jurisdiction of this case is based upon diversity of citizenship, a federal court must sit as a local court in determining relevant legal principles.
Erie R.R. Co. v. Tompkins,
(1938)
Unlike
Lovelace,
which did not have the benefit of a certification process, the Seventh Circuit could have certified the issues in the instant case to the Indiana Supreme Court pursuant to A.R. 15(O). The Seventh Circuit, however, denied Volkswagen’s request for certification. Although the basis for this denial is unknown, we recognize the principle that a court is reluctant to allow certification from a party who chooses to invoke federal jurisdiction,
Cantwell v. University of Massachusetts,
In
Sun Oil Co. v. Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Corp.,
Therefore, although there appears to be no case directly in point on the problem, it would seem that the rule is that a declaratory judgment action should not be entertained when it is initiated by a prospective or actual defendant in a tort action. However, since the problem is largely one of discretion of a court, it seems that conceivably there might be an exception to the rule, the exception being that the declaratory judgment proceeding should be permitted in this type of case when it would be in the interest of justice or for the сonvenience of the parties to permit it.
In
Cunningham Brothers, Inc. v. Bail,
Although Volkswagen argues that the purpose of their declaratory actions is to obtain a definitive statement of state law, whether it be favorable or unfavorable, a favorable declaratory judgment would not terminate the present controversy. Rather, the question as to whether Volkswagen has a viable defense would still have to be determined on the facts of this case, and therefore, would spawn piecemeal adjudication. Such result was not the purpose оf the declaratory judgment statute. Rather, the parties would have to resort to another independent action in addition to one for declaratory judgment before final relief could be obtained, a result condemned by this court in Rainwater v. Merriman, supra.
We also remind plaintiffs-aрpellants, Volkswagen, that a statement as to state law by a state court would have been reached if Volkswagen had not removed the case to federal court. It appears to this court that appellants were only interested in state law after the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals overruled prior case law which had been advantageous to their position.
Even accepting the stated facts in Volkswagen’s complaint as true, we hold that declaratory relief would be inappropriate in the present case and, therefore, affirm the dismissals by the trial courts.
Affirmed.
Notes
. The Hancock Circuit Court’s order for dismissal, dated May 20, 1978, took the following written form:
MEMORANDUM
The Plaintiff in this case seeks a declaratory judgment not for the purpose of determining whether the facts of this situаtion provide the Plaintiff herein with a “seatbelt defense” in an action now pending in Federal Court, but rather they seek an opinion of this Court on an abstract proposition of law to-wit: Is the “seat-belt defense” recognized as a viable defense in *1084 the State оf Indiana? Suppose this court declares that the State of Indiana does recognize the “seatbelt defense”. Such a declaration would not end the controversy or uncertainty as to the rights of the parties herein, because the facts would still have to be inquired into to determine whether the “seatbelt defense” is available on the facts of this case. No Federal Court has abstained from proceeding with this case while awaiting a decision from any State Court. It is not the function of State Trial Courts to pronounce declarations of abstract propositions of law for the purpose of assisting the Federal Courts with jurisdiction of the parties to determine what law to apply in the case. There is a procedural rule, which provides that Federal Appellаte Courts may certify questions to Indiana Appellate Courts to get a ruling on State law, but such rule does not apply to this situation. It is clear from the record herein that the Plaintiff in this case has submitted itself to the jurisdiction of the Federal Court, and that there is now a binding adjudication to the effect that the complaint filed in Federal Court against Volkswagenwerk does state a claim for relief. This is an attempt to escape the consequences of such an adjudication by a court having jurisdiction over this Plaintiff and amounts to an аttempt to appeal from the Federal Court to the State Court by means of a Petition for Declaratory Judgment, and such a procedure is not permitted. With respect to this case insofar as it constitutes a request for the opinion of this court as to the viability of the “seatbelt defense” in Indiana the Court feels that to decide this question which Plaintiff has attempted to submit to this Court is properly before the Federal Court, and that Federal Court has jurisdiction of these parties, and that the issues presented here are рresented in the Federal Court and should not be decided here on a piecemeal basis.
For the above stated reasons the Court now orders and adjudges that the Defendants Motion to Dismiss the Complaint herein be and the same is hereby sustained, and said complaint is now dismissed.