Opinion ID: 742674
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: why certification of the state law issues is appropriate

Text: 37 There is no way for us to avoid the state law issues in this case. We have not yet decided the ERISA preemption issue, the only federal question in the case, and we do not mean to imply any view on it. However, even if we were to assume for present purposes that each of the Alabama Provider Acts is preempted by ERISA, the same state law issues would remain for decision. The reason is that ERISA covers only employee benefit plans. See 29 U.S.C. § 1003. Blue Cross offers some insurance policies and plans that do not fall within the scope of ERISA; they are governed by state law free of ERISA. Nevertheless, those non-ERISA policies and plans are within the scope of the pleadings and the district court's decision in this case by virtue of pendent jurisdiction, see 28 U.S.C. § 1367(a), and the state law issues must be decided before we can dispose of that part of this appeal. So, the state law issues are unavoidable. The question is who should decide those issues, and we do not think that is a close question at all. 38 The final arbiter of state law is the state supreme court, which is another way of saying that Alabama law is what the Alabama Supreme Court says it is. See, e.g., Sultenfuss v. Snow, 35 F.3d 1494, 1504 (11th Cir.1994) (Carnes, J., dissenting) (From our perspective, state law is what the state supreme court says it is, and a state supreme court's pronouncements on the subject are binding on every state and federal court.). Because the only authoritative voice on Alabama law is the Alabama Supreme Court, it is axiomatic that that court is the best one to decide issues of Alabama law. 39 Having the most authoritative voice on Alabama law decide the state law issues in this case is especially important because the decision will affect the rights of so many of the state's citizens, perhaps more than half. Adjustment of the rights and interests of insurers, health care providers, and insureds is a subject matter that falls squarely within the zone of traditional state regulatory concerns. The question to be decided is exactly how the State of Alabama has chosen to regulate its largest health insurer. 40 At the threshold, the answer to that question depends upon reconciliation of the competing trajectories of a number of canons of statutory construction. Given the nature of the overlapping and somewhat contradictory canons of statutory construction arguably applicable to this case, and the competing interests and policies at stake, the task is less like applying a scientific formula and more like painting a picture. We could take up the brush ourselves, but we are not at all confident our painting would resemble the one the Alabama Supreme Court would have produced. 41 It is even more imperative that any state constitutional law issues in this case be decided by the state supreme court. Given the sensitivity of such matters and how closely they sound to the heart of a state's self-government, a federal court should not purport to hold that a state statute violates the state constitution, except as an unavoidable matter of last resort. Federalism and comity require at least that much deference to state courts on ultrasensitive state law matters. 42 For all of these reasons, we conclude that it would be irresponsible of us not to give the Alabama Supreme Court an opportunity to decide the difficult, sensitive, and dispositive Alabama law issues presented in this appeal. 6 Fortunately, we have a procedure for giving it that opportunity. Certification of state law issues to state supreme courts is a valuable tool for promoting the interests of cooperative federalism. We, more than any other circuit, use that tool. See Jona Goldschmidt, American Judicature Society, Certification of Questions of Law: Federalism in Practice 28 (1995) (noting that during a five-year period the Eleventh Circuit has by far certified the most questions (49) of any circuit, with the average number certified by all circuit courts during the same period being 14.5). We will use it here. 43 We realize, of course, that the last two times this Court certified questions of state law to the Alabama Supreme Court, it declined to answer them, see Moreno v. Nationwide Ins. Co., 114 F.3d 168 (11th Cir.1997); Colonial Properties v. Vogue Cleaners, 86 F.3d 210, 211 (11th Cir.1996), as it has every right to do. In the absence of any clearer indication than that, we will not assume the Alabama Supreme Court has, for whatever reason, adopted a policy or practice against answering certified questions from this Court. Perhaps this case, as compelling an example of the need for certification of state law issues as we have seen, will provide a clearer indication of whether the procedure is still viewed with favor by our state court colleagues.D. THE CERTIFIED QUESTIONS 44 For the foregoing reasons, we certify to the Alabama Supreme Court the following questions: 45 (1) Is Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama exempted by § 10-4-115 and § 27-1-4 of the Alabama Code from the application of § 27-1-19, §§ 27-19A-1 to -11, and §§ 27-45-1 to -9? 46 (2) If the answer to the first question is in the affirmative as to any of those three acts, are § 10-4-115 and § 27-1-4 invalid under the Alabama Constitution to that extent? 47 Our statement of the questions to be certified is not meant to limit the scope of inquiry by the Supreme Court of Alabama: 48 [T]he particular phrasing used in the certified question is not to restrict the Supreme Court's consideration of the problems involved and the issues as the Supreme Court perceives them to be in its analysis of the record certified in this case. This latitude extends to the Supreme Court's restatement of the issue or issues and the manner in which the answers are to be given, whether as a comprehensive whole or in subordinate or even contingent parts. 49 Martinez v. Rodriquez, 394 F.2d 156, 159 n. 6 (5th Cir.1968) (citations omitted). 50 The entire record in this case, together with copies of the briefs of the parties and amici curiae, is transmitted herewith. 51 QUESTIONS CERTIFIED.