An action for declaratory judgment is procedural in nature and purpose. This is a civil action seeking declaratory relief arising from Plaintiff's contract of insurance with Defendant. 2.This is an insurance dispute about whether Defendants owed coverage to Plaintiff for an underlying toxic tort action. An injured party may assert a counterclaim for declaratory judgment directly against the tortfeasor's insurer while an underlying tort claim is pending. In List's Estate, the. With regard to Plaintiffs' declaratory judgment claim, the Declaratory Judgment Act. Insurance Department, 512 Pa. 217, 516 A.2d 647 (1986). The Declaratory Judgment Act, 28 U.S.C. § 2201(a), provides that in "a case of actual controversy within its jurisdiction . . . A court's first step in a declaratory judgment action concerning insurance coverage is to determine the scope of the policy's coverage. Any person seeking a declaratory judgment may also demand additional, alternative, coercive, subsequent, or supplemental relief in the same action. History.—s.