that the amount of damages owed to Mr. Cain’s beneficiaries constitutes an actual controversy so as to allow its declaratory action to proceed. Inasmuch as it is unclear whether or not a FELA action will be initiated by the estate’s representative, this alleged controversy is not ripe for adjudication. The purpose of the Declaratory Judgment Act is “to avoid accrual of avoidable damages to one not certain of his rights and to afford him an early adjudication, without waiting until his adversary should see fit to begin suit, after damage had accrued.” NUCOR Corp. v. Aceros Y Maquilas de Occidente, S.A. de C.V., 28 F.3d 572, 577 (7th Cir.1994) (internal quotations and citations omitted); see also United Parcel Service, Inc. v. Pennie, 2004 WL 2064547, at *3 (N.D.Ill. Sep. 8, 2004) (<HOLDING>); Ebenisterie Beaubois Ltee v. Marous Bros.
holding that the declaratory judgment act does not authorize a party to seek a determination of its adversarys rights and obligations and potential damages but rather is to be used to avoid accrual of avoidable damages to one not certain of his rights holding that a plaintiff can seek statutory damages even in the absence of actual damages recognizing that the declaratory judgment act is only procedural and does not create substantive rights internal quotation marks and citations omitted holding that the determination and assessment of damages are not the primary purpose of a declaratory action holding that damages based on the abstract value of constitutional rights are not a permissible element of compensatory damages in action under civil rights act of 1871