Whether Article III, the Rules of Decision Act, and the Erie doctrine mandate that federal courts sitting in diversity must certify novel state law questions to State supreme courts when the State's highest court has not interpreted the statute

Whether Article III, the Rules of Decision Act, and the Erie doctrine mandate that federal courts sitting in diversity must certify novel state law questions to State supreme courts — rath er than substituting their own admitted “best guess” interpretation — when the State’s highest court has not interpreted the statute, certification procedures are available, and the interpretation eliminates federal constitutional rights, regardless of whether the parties requested certification. ii PARTIES AND