Aspen Insurance (UK) Ltd., et al. v. Black & Veatch Corporation

The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, sitting in diversity, made a prediction of state law under Erie R.R. Co. v. Tompkins, 304 U.S. 64 (1938), finding that New York’s highest court would decline to follow New York intermediate appellate court precedent on an issue of coverage under a general liability insurance policy. The Tenth Circuit looked to a variety of sources, including commentary and authority from courts applying the law of other states, to make its prediction that New York’s highest court would not follow those intermediate appellate court decisions. The question presented is: 1. Whether a federal court sitting in diversity must give deference to state intermediate appellate court decisions on a question of state law, absent state highest court precedent, or whether those intermediate court decisions are merely one factor among many to be considered in predicting the highest court’s likely ruling on that question.