I am listening to the oral argument in Devillier v. Texas, and one attorney just said the declaratory judgment is an equitable remedy. It is not. Here is a note from the manuscript for the next edition of Ames, Chafee, and Re on Remedies:
Note on Equity and the Declaratory Judgment
Modern declaratory judgment acts have largely, but not entirely, superseded a variety of equitable remedies that were once quite important in solving procedural difficulties and providing effective protection for rights. Among these were quia timet ("because he fears") relief, bills of peace, cancellation of documents, and decrees quieting title to property. In their original forms, these remedies all relied on the power of equity courts to issue in personam orders. Indeed, equity decrees are typically coercive: the court orders the defendant to do or not to do some act. This is one application of the maxim that equity acts in personam.
