Randy Tarum, as Personal Representative of the Estate of Robert L. Lindsay, et al. v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company
DueProcess ClassAction Jurisdiction JusticiabilityDoctri
Should cooperative-federalism, comity, efficient-federal-practice, divergent-decisions, lehman-bros-v-schein, certification-of-state-law-questions
Questions Presented 1. Should cooperative federalism, comity, efficient federal practice, and the divergent decisions in the Circuits prompt the Court in the wake of Lehman Bros. v. Schein, 416 U.S. 386 (1974) to clarify and update the procedure for certifying questions of state law in diversity actions so that it is a predictable, if not mandated, process when the question is one of “first impression,” significantly affecting the welfare of citizens in the state, and determinative of the cause of action in the federal forum? 2. Were petitioners denied a fair hearing in this diversity action when after acknowledging that a state-law insurance issue is one of “first impression” in Montana, the Panel refused to certify the question to the state’s highest court, relegating petitioners to an inappropriate “Erie guess” in an unpublished memorandum?