Joan Stormo, as Assignee of Peter T. Clark v. State National Insurance Company

Federal courts sitting in diversity must apply the laws of the relevant state as rules of decision. 28 U.S. Code § 1652. Certification of questions to state supreme courts is an invaluable tool in ascertaining answers to novel or uncertain questions of state law. The First Circuit has adopted a rule, contrary to the majority of circuits, disfavoring certifying questions when requested by a party filing a state law claim in a federal forum. It applied this rule against Petitioner by refusing to certify a question to the Massachusetts SJC. The question presented is: Does the rule disfavoring certification employed by a minority of circuits violate the Erie doctrine and principles of federalism by discriminating against parties filing in federal court based on diversity jurisdiction?