Court Opinion

ID: 9949420
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2024-03-11 17:01:17.459024+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T14:25:49.710216
License: Public Domain

USCA4 Appeal: 22-1853         Doc: 68         Filed: 03/08/2024   Pg: 1 of 35

                                                 PUBLISHED

                                   UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
                                       FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

                                                  No. 22-1853

        ELEGANT MASSAGE, LLC, d/b/a Light Stream Spa, on behalf of itself and all
        others similarly situated,

                                Plaintiff - Appellee,

                        v.

        STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE COMPANY; STATE
        FARM FIRE AND CASUALTY COMPANY,

                                Defendants - Appellants.

        ------------------------------

        AMERICAN PROPERTY CASUALTY INSURANCE ASSOCIATION;
        AMERICAN TORT REFORM ASSOCIATION; NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF
        MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANIES,

                                Amici Supporting Appellant.

        Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, at
        Norfolk. Raymond A. Jackson, Senior District Judge. (2:20−cv−00265−RAJ−RJK)

        Argued: September 20, 2023                                        Decided: March 8, 2024

        Before DIAZ, Chief Judge, WYNN, Circuit Judge, and KEENAN, Senior Circuit Judge.

        Reversed and remanded with instructions by published opinion. Senior Judge Keenan
        wrote the majority opinion, in which Chief Judge Diaz joined. Judge Wynn wrote an
        opinion concurring in the judgment in part and dissenting in part.

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        ARGUED: Christina Guerola Sarchio, DECHERT LLP, Washington, D.C., for
        Appellants. Melissa L. Yeates, KESSLER TOPAZ MELTZER & CHECK, LLP, Radnor,
        Pennsylvania, for Appellee. ON BRIEF: Douglas W. Dunham, Bert L. Wolff, DECHERT
        LLP, New York, New York; Theodore I. Brenner, Alexander S. de Witt, FREEBORN &
        PETERS LLP, Richmond, Virginia; Joseph A. Cancila, Jr., James P. Gaughan, RILEY
        SAFER HOLMES & CANCILA LLP, Chicago, Illinois, for Appellants. Joseph H.
        Meltzer, Tyler S. Graden, Jordan Jacobson, KESSLER TOPAZ MELTZER & CHECK,
        LLP, Radnor, Pennsylvania; William H. Monroe, Jr., Marc C. Greco, Kip A. Harbison,
        Michael A. Glasser, GLASSER AND GLASSER, P.L.C., Norfolk, Virginia; James E.
        Cecchi, Lindsey H. Taylor, Donald A. Ecklund, Zachary A. Jacobs, CARELLA, BYRNE,
        CECCHI, OLSTEIN, BRODY & AGNELLO, P.C., Roseland, New Jersey, for Appellee.
        Wystan M. Ackerman, ROBINSON & COLE LLP, Hartford, Connecticut, for Amici
        American Property Casualty Insurance Association and National Association of Mutual
        Insurance Companies. H. Sherman Joyce, Lauren Sheets Jarrell, AMERICAN TORT
        REFORM ASSOCIATION, Washington, D.C.; Steven P. Lehotsky, Scott A. Keller,
        Jeremy Evan Maltz, Washington, D.C., Katherine C. Yarger, LEHOTSKY KELLER LLP,
        Denver, Colorado, for Amicus American Tort Reform Association.

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        BARBARA MILANO KEENAN, Senior Circuit Judge:

               In this appeal of a class action certification order, we consider a complaint alleging

        breach of contract and other related claims. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance

        Company (State Farm) appeals the district court’s certification of a class of businesses that

        was denied insurance coverage when several Virginia executive orders required full or

        partial closure of those businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. State Farm also asks,

        based on our recent decision in Uncork & Create LLC v. Cincinnati Insurance Co., 27

        F.4th 926 (4th Cir. 2022), which similarly addressed a question of commercial property

        insurance coverage during the COVID-19 pandemic, that we exercise pendent appellate

        jurisdiction to consider alleged legal error in the district court’s denial of State Farm’s

        motion to dismiss. Because the immediately appealable issue of class certification and the

        district court’s decision denying State Farm’s motion to dismiss are “so interconnected” as

        to require concurrent review, we exercise pendent appellate jurisdiction to consider the

        district court’s denial of the motion to dismiss. After considering the precedential effect

        of Uncork on the district court’s decision, we reverse the district court’s judgment and

        remand the case with instructions that the court dismiss the entire case.

                                                     I.

               In March 2020, Elegant Massage, LLC, d/b/a Light Stream Spa (Elegant Massage),

        operated a massage parlor in Virginia Beach, Virginia. On March 16, 2020, Elegant

        Massage voluntarily closed to “protect its employees and the public” from the spread of

        the COVID-19 virus.        The Governor of Virginia and the Virginia State Health

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        Commissioner declared a public health emergency four days later, and on March 23, 2020,

        the Governor issued an executive order directing the closure of “all public access” to

        recreational and entertainment businesses, including spas and massage parlors. In May

        2020, the Governor issued amended executive orders that allowed “massage centers” to

        reopen subject to certain conditions. 1

               On the day Elegant Massage voluntarily closed, it filed a claim for loss of business

        income and extra expenses under its “all risk” commercial property insurance policy issued

        by State Farm (the policy). The policy, which was in effect from July 22, 2019 through

        July 22, 2020, covered loss or damage to the premises operated by Elegant Massage (the

        covered property).     This coverage included “loss of income” sustained due to the

        “suspension” of operations during any “period of restoration,” as well as “extra expenses”

        incurred during the same period. The “period of restoration” was defined in the policy as

        beginning “immediately after the time of accidental direct physical loss caused by any

        Covered Cause Of Loss at the [covered property],” and ending on the earlier of the date

        when the covered property “should be repaired, rebuilt[,] or replaced with reasonable speed

        and similar quality,” or when “business is resumed at a new permanent location.”

               To qualify for “loss of income” coverage, the policy required that the “suspension”

        be caused by “accidental direct physical loss” to the covered property, and that the loss be

               1
                 In this opinion, we refer generally to the “executive orders” issued by the Governor
        during the period of March 23, 2020 through June 30, 2020, to which the district court
        referred in its class certification order.
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        “covered,” that is, not subject to any exclusions. 2 As relevant to the present case, the policy

        excluded coverage for any loss caused by “virus” (the virus exclusion).

               On March 26, 2020, State Farm denied Elegant Massage’s claim for loss of business

        income. State Farm explained that Elegant Massage voluntarily had closed on March 16,

        2020, before any Virginia executive order was in place, that there was no known damage

        to the covered property due to COVID-19, and that, because of the virus exclusion, the

        suspension of Elegant Massage’s business operations was not a “covered” cause of loss

        under the policy.

               Following State Farm’s denial of coverage, Elegant Massage filed a putative class

        action complaint against State Farm on behalf of itself and similarly situated individuals

        and entities, seeking a declaratory judgment that the virus exclusion did not apply and

        asserting claims for breach of contract and breach of the duty of good faith and fair dealing.

        As the basis for its claims, Elegant Massage alleged that the executive orders requiring full

        or partial closure of Elegant Massage and the other businesses in the putative class resulted

        in covered losses under the policy. State Farm moved to dismiss Elegant Massage’s first

        amended complaint under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), arguing that Elegant

        Massage had not alleged “accidental direct physical loss” to the covered property, that

        Elegant Massage had not alleged any loss requiring a “period of restoration,” and that

        exclusions in the policy barred Elegant Massage’s claims.

               2
                The term “suspension” included a “partial slowdown” or “complete cessation” of
        business activities.
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               The district court rejected State Farm’s arguments, holding that the phrase “direct

        physical loss” was ambiguous under Virginia law, and that it was plausible that such loss

        “could mean” that property is “uninhabitable, inaccessible, or dangerous” to use because

        of “intangible, or non-structural sources.” The court did not address State Farm’s argument

        regarding the “period of restoration,” and held that the virus exclusion did not bar Elegant

        Massage’s claims. The court thus denied State Farm’s motion to dismiss. 3

               State Farm moved to amend the court’s denial of the motion to dismiss, or for

        certification of interlocutory appeal under 28 U.S.C. § 1292(b).          The district court

        summarily denied these requests.

               Proceeding under Rule 23(b)(3), Elegant Massage moved for class certification. 4 In

        addition to determining whether the requirements of Rule 23(a) were satisfied, including

        “commonality” of the class members’ claims, the district court also was required to

        determine under Rule 23(b)(3) whether “questions of law or fact common to the members

        of the class predominate[d] over any questions affecting only individual members” (the

        predominance requirement). Gariety v. Grant Thornton, LLP, 368 F.3d 356, 362 (4th Cir.

               3
                The district court granted State Farm’s motion in part, holding that the policy did
        not cover Elegant Massage’s voluntary closure from March 16, 2020 until March 22, 2020,
        and that the policy’s Civil Authority Coverage provision did not apply to Elegant
        Massage’s claims. Because these holdings granting in part State Farm’s motion are not
        relevant to this appeal, we refer in this opinion to the district court’s “denial” of State
        Farm’s motion to dismiss.
               4
                 Previously, in ruling on Elegant Massage’s first motion to certify a class under
        Rule 23(b)(2), the district court sua sponte certified a class under Rule 23(b)(3). On appeal,
        we reversed the court’s sua sponte certification, expressing no opinion on the
        appropriateness of certification under Rule 23(b)(3), but explaining that the district court
        abused its discretion by certifying a class under that provision without a request to do so.
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        2004). The district court held that each required factor under Rule 23(a) and Rule 23(b)(3)

        was satisfied, and granted Elegant Massage’s class certification motion (the class

        certification order). The certified class included:

               All persons or entities in the Commonwealth of Virginia with a
               Businessowners insurance policy issued by State Farm on Form CMP-4100,
               including a Loss of Income and Extra Expense endorsement . . . in effect at
               any time between March 23, 2020 and June 30, 2020 (the “Closure Period”),
               that were subject to a partial or full business suspension under the Orders and
               submitted claims for business income losses and/or extra expenses incurred
               during the Closure Period that were denied by Defendants.

               State Farm timely petitioned this Court for permission to appeal the class

        certification order under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(f). We granted State Farm’s

        petition.

                                                     II.

               On appeal, State Farm relies heavily on our decision in Uncork & Create LLC v.

        Cincinnati Ins. Co., 27 F.4th 926 (4th Cir. 2022), which we issued two weeks after State

        Farm filed its notice of appeal in the present case. Before turning to the issues presently

        before us, we describe the factual background and our holding in Uncork.

               In March 2020, Uncork and Create LLC (Uncork) operated a “creative events”

        business at two art studios in West Virginia. 27 F.4th at 928. After the Governor of West

        Virginia issued an executive order that required non-essential businesses in West Virginia

        to close temporarily during the COVID-19 pandemic (the closure order), Uncork sought

        coverage for lost business income under its commercial property insurance policy. Id. at

        928–29. The policy, issued by The Cincinnati Insurance Company, covered property losses

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        resulting from a covered cause of loss, namely, “direct,” “accidental physical loss or

        accidental physical damage” (the property loss provision), as well as business income

        losses for expenses incurred during the “period of restoration” (the business income loss

        provision). Id. at 929. The “period of restoration” was defined under the policy as

        beginning when a covered cause of loss occurred, and as ending on the earlier date of when

        the property “should be repaired, rebuilt[,] or replaced with reasonable speed and similar

        quality,” or when business “is resumed at a new permanent location.” Id.

               Under established principles of West Virginia law, we held that the plain meaning

        of the disputed language in the policy, namely, “physical loss” or “physical damage” to a

        defined premises, required material destruction or material harm to the covered premises.

        Id. at 932. We explained that any other interpretation of these phrases would render

        meaningless the pre-condition of a “period of restoration,” which contemplated a need to

        repair, rebuild, or replace property, or to expend time securing a new, permanent property.

        Id.

               Applying this unambiguous policy language to Uncork’s claims, we held that

        “neither the [West Virginia] closure order nor the COVID-19 virus caused present or

        impending material destruction or material harm that physically altered the covered

        property requiring repairs or replacement so that they could be used as intended.” Id. at

        933. Thus, we concluded that the insurance policy’s coverage for business income loss did

        not apply to Uncork’s claim for financial losses while the closure order was in effect, and

        we affirmed the district court’s judgment dismissing Uncork’s putative class action

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        complaint under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). Id. at 933–34. With this holding

        in mind, we turn to consider State Farm’s arguments on appeal.

                                                    III.

               State Farm challenges the class certification order, arguing that the district court

        abused its discretion in finding that the plaintiffs satisfied the commonality and

        predominance requirements under Rule 23. State Farm submits that this Court has

        appellate jurisdiction to consider this issue under Rule 23(f). Separately, relying on our

        decision in Uncork, State Farm argues that the district court committed legal error by

        denying State Farm’s motion to dismiss and by holding that Elegant Massage suffered

        “accidental direct physical loss” under the policy due to the implementation of the

        executive orders. State Farm urges us to review the district court’s denial of the motion to

        dismiss under the doctrine of pendent appellate jurisdiction, a judicially-created,

        discretionary exception to the final judgment rule. See Rux v. Republic of Sudan, 461 F.3d

        461, 475 (4th Cir. 2006).

               In response, Elegant Massage contends that it satisfied the requirements of

        commonality and predominance under Rule 23, and separately maintains that this Court is

        not permitted to review the district court’s denial of the motion to dismiss under pendent

        appellate jurisdiction, an exception of “limited and narrow application.” Id. at 475.

        According to Elegant Massage, State Farm’s argument addressing Uncork and the district

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        court’s motion to dismiss is an “improper attempt to prematurely appeal” the district court’s

        opinion denying State Farm’s motion to dismiss.

                                                      A.

               We first address whether we have jurisdiction to consider the district court’s denial

        of State Farm’s motion to dismiss. Williamson v. Stirling, 912 F.3d 154, 168 (4th Cir.

        2018) (describing our “obligation” to verify the existence of appellate jurisdiction (citation

        omitted)).   Ordinarily, federal courts of appeals have jurisdiction only over “final

        decisions” from the United States district courts. 28 U.S.C. § 1291. Rule 23(f) provides

        an exception to this rule by allowing an appellate court to consider an interlocutory appeal

        from an order granting or denying class certification. See Microsoft Corp. v. Baker, 582

        U.S. 23, 30–31 (2017). Because we granted State Farm’s petition under Rule 23(f), we

        have appellate jurisdiction to consider State Farm’s arguments challenging the class

        certification order. But we lack jurisdiction under Rule 23(f) to consider the district court’s

        denial of State Farm’s motion to dismiss. Cf. Rux, 461 F.3d at 474 (holding that the denial

        of a motion to dismiss is not a “final” order).

               Under the doctrine of pendent appellate jurisdiction, however, we may review an

        issue not otherwise subject to immediate appeal when the issue is “so interconnected” with

        an issue properly before us as to “warrant concurrent review.” EQT Prod. Co. v. Adair,

        764 F.3d 347, 364 (4th Cir. 2014) (quoting Rux, 461 F.3d at 475). We exercise this

        jurisdiction sparingly and do so only if either (1) “an issue is ‘inextricably intertwined’

        with a question that is the proper subject of an immediate appeal,” or (2) “review of a

        jurisdictionally insufficient issue is ‘necessary to ensure meaningful review’ of an

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        immediately appealable issue.” Scott v. Fam. Dollar Stores, Inc., 733 F.3d 105, 111 (4th

        Cir. 2013) (citation omitted).

               Under the first test stated above, separate rulings are “inextricably intertwined”

        when “the same specific question will underlie both the appealable and the non-appealable

        order, such that resolution of the question will necessarily resolve the appeals from both

        orders at once.” Indus. Servs. Grp., Inc. v. Dobson, 68 F.4th 155, 167 (4th Cir. 2023)

        (quoting Scott, 733 F.3d at 111). Under the second test, review of a pendent issue will be

        necessary to ensure meaningful review of an immediately appealable issue “if resolution

        of the pendent issue is necessary, or essential in resolving the immediately appealable

        issue.” Id. (citation omitted). As explained below, we conclude that the second test for

        pendent appellate jurisdiction is satisfied here.

               Usually, an order denying a motion to dismiss and an order granting a class

        certification request will address distinct issues. In reviewing a motion to dismiss, the court

        considers the merits of the allegations in the plaintiff’s complaint to determine whether the

        complaint “state[s] a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” Hall v. DIRECTV, LLC,

        846 F.3d 757, 765 (4th Cir. 2017) (citation omitted). In contrast, in a class certification

        analysis, the court determines whether the Rule 23 requirements have been satisfied

        without considering whether the proposed class is likely to prevail on the merits. See

        Gariety, 368 F.3d at 362, 366 (citing Eisen v. Carlisle & Jacquelin, 417 U.S. 156, 177–78

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        (1974)). In the present case, however, these two orders, the denial of the motion to dismiss

        and the class certification order, are “so interconnected” as to require concurrent review.

               In its opinion denying State Farm’s motion to dismiss, the district court held that

        the phrase “direct physical loss” could mean that the covered property is “uninhabitable,

        inaccessible, or dangerous to use because of intangible, or non-structural, sources.” Thus,

        even though Elegant Massage’s covered property had not suffered a “structural form of

        direct physical loss” or a “distinct, demonstrable, or physical alteration” to its structure, the

        district court held that Elegant Massage could have experienced a “direct physical loss”

        because the executive orders rendered the covered property “uninhabitable, inaccessible,

        and dangerous” due to the risk of spreading the COVID-19 virus. After further holding

        that no exclusions otherwise precluded coverage for the time when the executive orders

        were in effect, the court denied in relevant part State Farm’s motion to dismiss.

               The district court’s holding regarding the meaning of “direct physical loss” guided

        its later determination that certain Rule 23(b)(3) requirements had been satisfied. In

        analyzing the Rule 23(b)(3) predominance requirement, for example, the court initially

        cited its opinion denying State Farm’s motion to dismiss and reiterated its prior holding

        that Elegant Massage had suffered “covered” losses due to the executive orders and, thus,

        had pleaded sufficient facts to state a plausible claim for relief. Relying on its analysis of

        Elegant Massage’s individual claims as a model of the proof required for the other putative

        class members’ claims, the court held that other similarly situated class members would

        need to show “substantially similar” facts, namely, that they held identical State Farm

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        policies, that their businesses suspended operations under the executive orders, and that

        they filed claims for the resulting losses that State Farm denied.

               The threshold merits question addressed in the district court’s order denying State

        Farm’s motion to dismiss thus was integral to the district court’s later conclusion that the

        class members could prove their claims through evidence common to the class. And,

        critically, both the district court’s denial of State Farm’s motion to dismiss and the resulting

        assumptions underlying the class certification order conflict with our later-issued precedent

        squarely addressing the interpretation of nearly identical language in another commercial

        property insurance policy. See generally Uncork, 27 F.4th 926; see also Scott, 733 F.3d at

        111 (exercising pendent appellate jurisdiction over the district court’s denial of leave to

        amend when the court’s interpretation of an intervening Supreme Court decision resolved

        both the appealable class certification decision and the non-appealable denial of leave to

        amend).

               The district court did not have the benefit of our analysis in Uncork when it denied

        State Farm’s motion to dismiss, nor when it granted Elegant Massage’s motion for class

        certification. On appeal, however, we cannot meaningfully review the class certification

        order, which relies in part on the legal conclusions reached in the district court’s denial of

        the motion to dismiss, while ignoring this new decision that is directly applicable to the

        case before us. See Dan Ryan Builders, Inc. v. Crystal Ridge Dev., Inc., 783 F.3d 976, 980

        (4th Cir. 2015) (describing “a court’s fundamental obligation to ascertain controlling law”).

        Because our resolution of the legal question of coverage under the policy is essential to our

        analysis of the class certification order, and because intervening precedent bears directly

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        on that question, we exercise pendent appellate jurisdiction to review the district court’s

        denial of State Farm’s motion to dismiss.

                                                      B.

               Turning to the merits of State Farm’s appeal, we begin with State Farm’s argument

        relying on Uncork that the district court committed legal error when it determined that the

        relevant executive orders caused “accidental direct physical loss” to the covered property.

        In response, Elegant Massage asserts that Uncork does not govern the outcome of this case

        because, there, we addressed a different insurance policy and applied West Virginia, rather

        than Virginia, law. We disagree with Elegant Massage’s argument.

               We review de novo the district court’s denial of the motion to dismiss. Dyer v.

        Smith, 56 F.4th 271, 276 (4th Cir. 2022). Initially, we observe that the principles of West

        Virginia law that we applied in Uncork mirror the principles of Virginia law that we apply

        in the present case. 5 Compare Uncork, 27 F.4th at 931, with TravCo Ins. v. Ward, 736

        S.E.2d 321, 325 (Va. 2012), James River Ins. v. Doswell Truck Stop, LLC, 827 S.E.2d 374,

        376 (Va. 2019), and Gov’t Emps. Ins. v. Moore, 580 S.E.2d 823, 828–29 (Va. 2003).

               Like in Uncork, we are required to interpret the policy “in accordance with the

        intention of the parties gleaned from the words they have used in the document.” Travco,

        736 S.E.2d at 325. We consider each term in “the holistic context of the word within the

               5
                 See Volvo Const. Equip. N. Am., Inc. v. CLM Equip. Co., Inc., 386 F.3d 581, 599
        (4th Cir. 2004) (“A federal court exercising diversity jurisdiction is obliged to apply the
        substantive law of the state in which it sits, including the state’s choice-of-law rules.”). We
        hold, and the parties agree, that Virginia law applies to the interpretation of the policy.

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        instrument,” with each “word, clause, and provision” of the policy construed together to

        harmonize, when reasonably possible, any potentially conflicting words or terms. Erie Ins.

        Exch. v. EPC MD 15, LLC, 822 S.E.2d 351, 354–55 (Va. 2019). If the meaning of a term

        is unambiguous, then we apply its plain meaning. TravCo, 736 S.E.2d at 325. But if a

        term is subject to multiple interpretations, we construe the ambiguous policy language in

        favor of coverage and against the insurer. Doswell Truck Stop, 827 S.E.2d at 376; Moore,

        580 S.E.2d at 829.

               We turn to consider the language of the present policy, which requires as conditions

        of coverage “accidental direct physical loss” and a “period of restoration.” The parties

        dispute whether the closures mandated by the executive orders qualified as “direct physical

        loss” under the policy. In Uncork, we relied on the plain meaning of the phrase “physical

        loss” to determine that, with reference to a defined premises, that phrase means “material

        destruction” or “material harm.” 27 F.4th at 932 (citing Webster’s Third New Int’l

        Dictionary 1338, 1706 (2002)). We also held that the policy’s requirement of a “period of

        restoration,” which is materially identical to the period of restoration requirement in the

        present policy, further demonstrated the pre-condition of a material alteration to the

        property. Id.

               Applying these same principles to the similarly “plain and unambiguous” policy

        language here, we hold that “direct physical loss” under the policy requires “present or

        impending material destruction or material harm.” Id. at 933. Because the executive orders

        did not cause such harm and did not physically alter the covered property to require repair,

        rebuilding, replacement, or relocation to another property, we hold that the policy’s

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        coverage for loss of income and extra expenses does not apply to Elegant Massage’s claim

        based solely on the closure mandated by those orders. 6 We therefore hold that the district

        court erred when it denied State Farm’s motion to dismiss the complaint.

               As a result of this conclusion, we also hold that there is no basis for class

        certification, and do not reach State Farm’s other arguments on appeal regarding the class

        certification order. Cf. Boulware v. Crossland Mortg. Corp., 291 F.3d 261, 268 n.4 (4th

        Cir. 2002) (affirming denial of class certification when the plaintiff failed to state a claim,

        and “all other similarly situated plaintiffs would likewise fail to state a claim”); cf. also

        Curtin v. United Airlines, Inc., 275 F.3d 88, 93 (D.C. Cir. 2001) (declining to reach the

               6
                  Our conclusion is not altered by Elegant Massage’s reliance on US Airways, Inc.
        v. Commonwealth Ins., in which a Virginia trial court held that the “civil or military
        intervention provision” in the plaintiff’s policy, “interpret[ed] on its face,” did not require
        as a condition of coverage “damage” to the plaintiff’s property. 64 Va. Cir. 408, 2004 WL
        1094684, at *5 (2004). Such a provision is not at issue in the present appeal. Nor are we
        persuaded by Elegant Massage’s contention that the Virginia executive orders are
        materially distinct from the West Virginia closure order in Uncork because the West
        Virginia order did not “explicitly force[]” businesses to close. Initially, we observe that
        the West Virginia closure order, like the Virginia executive orders, directed certain
        businesses to “temporarily cease” operations. Uncork, 27 F.4th at 929. Moreover, any
        factual distinction regarding the scope of the West Virginia closure order or the Virginia
        executive orders would not affect our conclusion that, based on the unambiguous policy
        language, the executive orders did not result in material destruction or material harm to the
        covered property.
                Finally, Elegant Massage cites an internal State Farm document, which provided
        that if damaged property is owned by someone other than the insured, loss of income
        coverage may apply even without “damage to [the] covered or insured property.” Not only
        is that limited circumstance inapplicable to the present case but, also, the policy language
        at issue here is unambiguous, and, thus, we “need not look beyond the plain meaning of”
        that language to determine whether Elegant Massage suffered a covered loss. TravCo, 736
        S.E.2d at 326.
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        class certification question when the district court properly granted summary judgment on

        the merits). 7

                                                      IV.

               Exercising our pendent appellate jurisdiction, we conclude that the district court

        erred when it denied State Farm’s motion to dismiss. Moreover, the legal error animating

        the court’s denial of the motion to dismiss directly affects the outcome of the court’s class

        certification order. Thus, we reverse the district court’s denial of State Farm’s motion to

        dismiss, reverse the class certification order, and remand the matter to the district court

        with instructions that it dismiss the entire case.

                                                                    REVERSED AND REMANDED
                                                                         WITH INSTRUCTIONS

               7
                Additionally, because we hold that the policy does not cover Elegant Massage’s
        claimed business losses, we need not address whether the virus exclusion otherwise would
        preclude coverage.
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        WYNN, Circuit Judge, concurring in the judgment in part and dissenting in part:

               In this appeal, State Farm has asked us to review two issues: one related to the

        district court’s class certification order, and the other related to the district court’s order

        denying State Farm’s motion to dismiss. The majority and I agree that Congress has

        permitted us to review the class certification order but has not provided a statutory basis

        on which we may review the denial of the motion to dismiss. Nonetheless, the majority

        concludes it is necessary to exercise pendent appellate jurisdiction over the denial of the

        motion to dismiss and resolve the appeal by deciding that the named plaintiff’s claim is

        meritless.

               In exceedingly rare circumstances, we may exercise pendent appellate jurisdiction

        to review an issue even though Congress has not otherwise permitted us to do so. However,

        I do not agree with the majority’s conclusion that we must reach the denial of the motion

        to dismiss to resolve this appeal. We can—and should—reach the same outcome on the

        class certification issue with no mention of the motion to dismiss. By addressing the motion

        to dismiss even though it is not essential to a ruling on class certification, the majority

        opinion does not properly account for the limitations Congress has set on our review of

        interlocutory decisions. I therefore concur in the judgment in part and, very respectfully,

        dissent in part.

                                                      I.

                                                      A.

               It is a basic tenet of federal judicial review that we exercise jurisdiction only to the

        extent permitted by Congress and the Constitution. Constantine v. Rectors & Visitors of

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        George Mason Univ., 411 F.3d 474, 480 (4th Cir. 2005). “Provided it does not violate other

        constitutional provisions, Congress is widely seen to enjoy broad control over the

        jurisdiction of the federal courts,” including depriving us of jurisdiction. Appalachian

        Voices v. U.S. Dep’t of the Interior, 78 F.4th 71, 78 (4th Cir. 2023).

               “Ordinarily, federal courts of appeals have jurisdiction only over ‘final decisions’

        from the United States district courts.” Majority Op. at 10 (quoting 28 U.S.C. § 1291). And,

        most of the time, “a denial of a motion to dismiss constitutes an interlocutory order that is

        not immediately appealable.” District of Columbia v. Trump, 959 F.3d 126, 130 (4th Cir.

        2020) (en banc). By contrast, “an order granting or denying class-action certification” is

        immediately appealable, with the permission of the appellate court, under Federal Rule of

        Civil Procedure 23(f). When we exercise jurisdiction pursuant to Rule 23(f), however, our

        inquiry is limited to whether the district court “misapplie[d] the requirements of Rule 23.”

        EQT Prod. Co. v. Adair, 764 F.3d 347, 357 (4th Cir. 2014).

               In doing so, we may occasionally consider the underlying merits “to the extent ‘that

        they are relevant to determining whether the Rule 23 prerequisites for class certification

        are satisfied.’” Id. at 358 (quoting Amgen Inc. v. Conn. Ret. Plans & Tr. Funds, 568 U.S.

        455, 466 (2013)). But our inquiry can go no further: “Rule 23 does not give . . . courts a

        ‘license to engage in free-ranging merits inquiries at the certification stage.’” Id. (quoting

        Amgen, 568 U.S. at 466).

               Congress has also granted us authority to conduct interlocutory review of otherwise

        unreviewable orders, such as the denial of a motion to dismiss, in a thin sliver of cases—

        those that fall within the ambit of 28 U.S.C. § 1292(b). Under that statute, “[w]hen a district

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        judge” issues an interlocutory order in a civil case and is “of the opinion” that the order

        “involves a controlling question of law as to which there is substantial ground for

        difference of opinion and that an immediate appeal from the order may materially advance

        the ultimate termination of the litigation,” the judge may certify the question for appellate

        review. 28 U.S.C. § 1292(b). At that point, if the aggrieved party timely applies to the Court

        of Appeals, the appellate court may then—and only then—“permit an appeal to be taken

        from such order.” Id.

               Given the difference between the district court’s view of Virginia contract law and

        that of the majority, this case may have been a good candidate for utilizing the process

        outlined in § 1292(b). State Farm certainly thought so when, after the district court denied

        its motion to dismiss, it moved for the district court to certify the central contract-

        interpretation issues for immediate appeal. But the district court declined to certify the

        appeal. So, we have no statutory authority to review the denial of the motion to dismiss at

        this stage of the litigation.

                                                     B.

               That does not end the jurisdictional inquiry, however. Although Congress has

        indicated, through the statutory regime described above, that it does not want us to

        undertake interlocutory review of orders like the district court’s denial of the motion to

        dismiss, sometimes we cannot meaningfully review an issue over which Congress has

        provided us jurisdiction if we do not address an otherwise unreviewable issue. In those

        circumstances, the “judicially-created, discretionary exception” of pendent appellate

        jurisdiction comes into play. Rux v. Republic of Sudan, 461 F.3d 461, 475 (4th Cir. 2006).

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               “Pendent appellate jurisdiction is an exception of limited and narrow application

        driven by considerations of need, rather than of efficiency.” Id. The Supreme Court has

        emphasized that if courts take a “‘liberal’ or ‘flexible’ approach” to the doctrine, they risk

        “circumvent[ing]” the aforementioned limits on interlocutory review that Congress has

        imposed. Swint v. Chambers Cnty. Comm’n, 514 U.S. 35, 47 n.5 (1995). In other words,

        through § 1292(b), Congress “chose to confer on district courts first line discretion to allow

        interlocutory appeals. If courts of appeals had discretion to append to a[n ]authorized

        appeal . . . further rulings of a kind neither independently appealable nor certified by the

        district court, then the two-tiered arrangement § 1292(b) mandates would be severely

        undermined.” Id. at 47 (footnote omitted).

               Pendent appellate jurisdiction therefore does not permit us to address merits issues

        that we want, but do not need, to resolve. Instead, we may exercise this form of jurisdiction

        only “(1) when an issue is ‘inextricably intertwined’ with a question that is the proper

        subject of an immediate appeal; or (2) when review of a jurisdictionally insufficient issue

        is ‘necessary to ensure meaningful review’ of an immediately appealable issue.” Rux, 461

        F.3d at 475 (emphasis added) (quoting Swint, 514 U.S. at 50–51). Because the majority

        exercises pendent appellate jurisdiction via the second of these avenues, I focus my

        analysis there.

               “[R]eview of a pendent issue will be necessary to ensure meaningful review of an

        immediately appealable issue if resolution of the pendent issue is necessary, or essential,

        in resolving the immediately appealable issue.” Indus. Servs. Grp., Inc. v. Dobson, 68 F.4th

        155, 167 (4th Cir. 2023) (emphases added) (quoting Ealy v. Pinkerton Gov’t Servs., 514 F.

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        App’x 299, 309 (4th Cir. 2013) (unpublished but orally argued)). And, importantly, when

        a pendent issue merely could foreclose our review of the issue over which we already have

        appellate jurisdiction, it is not “necessary” for our review. See id. at 168 (“While a standing

        analysis could foreclose the need to address the immunity defense if [the plaintiff] does

        indeed lack standing, that is not the pendent jurisdiction test.”); Ealy, 514 F. App’x at 310

        (“Although analysis of the [pendent issue] could ultimately foreclose the need for analysis

        of the [class certification issue], resolution of the [pendent] issue is not necessary to review

        the class certification issue.”); Evans v. Chalmers, 703 F.3d 636, 658 (4th Cir. 2012)

        (stating that there was no basis for exercising pendent appellate jurisdiction where the core

        issue on appeal “did not require any evaluation of” the pendent issue (emphasis added)).

               In this case, the majority opinion concludes that its review of the denial of the

        motion to dismiss is necessary to ensure meaningful review of the class-certification

        decision. I disagree. Because, as I explain below, we can reach the same conclusion on

        class certification without analyzing the order on the motion to dismiss, the aforementioned

        limitations on our jurisdiction mean that we must decline to exercise pendent appellate

        jurisdiction over the latter order. 1

               1
                If I believed we could reach the merits, I may well have signed onto the majority’s
        analysis. But because I believe we lack jurisdiction to do so and my opinion would
        therefore be purely advisory, I decline to state any conclusive view on the issue.

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                                                     II.

                                                     A.

               As in any appeal permitted under Rule 23(f), the class-certification issue in this

        appeal asks us to determine whether the proposed class’s claims should be judged together,

        regardless of whether they should be judged meritorious. In my view, the class must be

        decertified because numerous individual inquiries would be required to determine whether

        State Farm breached its contract with each class member.

               The general requirements for class certification are familiar. A proposed class must

        meet the four prerequisites of Rule 23(a): numerosity, commonality, typicality, and

        adequacy of representation. Fed. R. Civ. P. 23; see also EQT, 764 F.3d at 357. Once those

        are met, “the class action must [also] fall within one of the three categories enumerated in

        Rule 23(b).” Gunnells v. Healthplan Servs., Inc., 348 F.3d 417, 423 (4th Cir. 2003).

               Here, Elegant Massage moved for, and the district court granted, class certification

        pursuant to Rule 23(b)(3). See Elegant Massage, LLC v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co.,

        No. 2:20-cv-265, 2022 WL 433006 (E.D. Va. Feb. 11, 2022). That rule imposes two

        additional requirements: predominance and superiority. Fed. R. Civ. P. 23; see also EQT,

        764 F.3d at 357. I focus on predominance because it is dispositive here.

               Predominance mandates that common questions “predominate over any questions

        affecting only individual members” of the proposed class. Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(b)(3).

        Common questions need not be dispositive of the entire litigation. Gunnells, 348 F.3d at

        427–28. For example, it may be appropriate to certify a class despite the need for individual

        damages determinations. Id.

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               But “while the need for individualized proof of damages does not necessarily

        preclude class certification so long as common issues continue to predominate over

        individual issues, it is impermissible to determine damages on a classwide basis in order to

        facilitate class treatment of a case when the governing law requires individualized proof of

        damages.” Lienhart v. Dryvit Sys., Inc., 255 F.3d 138, 147 (4th Cir. 2001). And “the need

        for individualized proof of damages may defeat predominance where proof of damages is

        essential to liability.” Id.

               That said, cases, like this one, that “involv[e] form contracts often lend themselves

        to class treatment.” Cruson v. Jackson Nat’l Life Ins. Co., 954 F.3d 240, 255 (5th Cir.

        2020); see also Sacred Heart Health Sys., Inc. v. Humana Mil. Healthcare Servs., Inc., 601

        F.3d 1159, 1171 (11th Cir. 2010) (“It is the form contract, executed under like conditions

        by all class members, that best facilitates class treatment.”); Spagnola v. Chubb Corp., 264

        F.R.D. 76, 98 (S.D.N.Y. 2010) (“[A]ctions that involve form or uniform contracts have

        been recognized as being well-suited for treatment as a class action.”). This is because

        when contract language is constant across the class, an interpretation of a relevant provision

        applies equally to all class members.

               But alleged breaches of standardized contracts do not invariably give rise to class

        actions, and courts properly deny class certification under Rule 23(b)(3) even in form-

        contract cases “where numerous individual inquiries [are] required to determine whether a

        breach of the contract could be found.” Spagnola, 264 F.R.D. at 98; e.g., Spotswood v.

        Hertz Corp., No. RDB-16-1200, 2019 WL 498822, at *9 (D. Md. Feb. 7, 2019) (denying

        class certification despite uniform contract where claims required a “case-by-case” inquiry

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        into whether fees charged by car rental company to fix damaged vehicles were reasonable).

        That is the case here.

               The district court granted class certification under Rule 23(b)(3), defining the class

        as

               [a]ll persons or entities in the Commonwealth of Virginia with a
               Businessowners insurance policy issued by State Farm on Form CMP-4100,
               including a Loss of Income and Extra Expense endorsement . . . in effect at
               any time between March 23, 2020 and June 30, 2020 (the “Closure Period”),
               that were subject to a partial or full business suspension under the Orders and
               submitted claims for business income losses and/or extra expenses incurred
               during the Closure Period that were denied by Defendants.

        Elegant Massage, 2022 WL 433006, at *20 (footnotes omitted). And the district court

        identified what it believed to be six common questions that supported class certification.

        Id. In concluding that these supposedly common issues predominated over individual

        issues, the district court stressed that the class members’ claims all involved the same form

        contract and that State Farm uniformly denied their claims. Id. at *17–18.

               No doubt, at least two of the six questions the district court identified are fairly

        described as common: “Whether the term ‘accidental direct physical loss’ in the Policies

        includes losses resulting from the Orders,” and “[w]hether the Loss of Income and Extra

        Expense Endorsements provide coverage for losses stemming from the Orders.” Id. at *20.

        These are classic legal questions interpreting contract language. Precisely because the

        policies are uniform across the class, answering those questions “will resolve an issue that

        is central” to the case “in one stroke.” Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes, 564 U.S. 338, 350

        (2011).

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               But our analysis of “whether ‘questions of law or fact common to class members

        predominate’” must “begin[], of course, with the elements of the underlying cause of

        action.” Erica P. John Fund, Inc. v. Halliburton Co., 563 U.S. 804, 809 (2011) (emphasis

        added) (quoting Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(b)(3)). In a breach-of-contract action like this one, “an

        essential element . . . is that the defendant’s breach of a contractual obligation caused injury

        or damage to the plaintiff.” 2 Ramos v. Wells Fargo Bank, NA, 770 S.E.2d 491, 493 (Va.

        2015) (emphasis added). State Farm is not liable merely because it denied class members’

        claims, even if it did so uniformly; it is only liable if it wrongfully denied the claims. EQT,

        764 F.3d at 366 (“[T]he mere fact that [a defendant] engaged in uniform conduct is not, by

        itself, sufficient to satisfy Rule 23(b)(3)’s more demanding predominance requirement” if

        the common conduct is not relevant to “ultimate liability.”).

               For coverage to apply, the policy requires that any business income loss was due to

        a “suspension” of the policyholder’s operations that was “caused by accidental direct

        physical loss.” J.A. 216. 3 Even assuming, as the district court did, that direct physical loss

        could include losses stemming from the executive orders, that determination would require

               2
                  I note that this brief assessment of the elements of the breach-of-contract claim
        and the proof it would require is the type of limited inquiry into the merits permitted under
        Rule 23. See EQT, 764 F.3d at 358 (recognizing merits inquiries are permissible “to the
        extent ‘that they are relevant to determining whether the Rule 23 prerequisites for class
        certification are satisfied’” (quoting Amgen, 568 U.S. at 466)). But we must stop there. Any
        more rigorous analysis of whether the class members could properly plead or establish a
        breach-of-contract claim violates our admonition that “Rule 23 does not give . . . courts a
        ‘license to engage in free-ranging merits inquiries at the certification stage.’” Id. (quoting
        Amgen, 568 U.S. at 466).
               3
                   Citations to the “J.A.” refer to the Joint Appendix filed by the parties in this appeal.

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        an individual review of each denied claim to determine whether the loss of business income

        claimed was due to the executive orders or to another cause.

               Elegant Massage claims that any possible differences go only to damages, but that

        is wrong. There is no liability in the first instance unless the executive orders caused a

        direct physical loss that triggered coverage.

               Elegant Massage’s story is itself illustrative. Citing a decline in customers due to

        COVID-19, Elegant Massage closed on March 16, 2020, before the first executive order

        went into effect on March 23. If there is a trial, State Farm will likely argue that Elegant

        Massage’s business troubles long predated COVID-19 and the executive orders, that it did

        not attempt to reopen even once it was permitted to do so under the executive orders, and

        indeed that it never intended to reopen once it closed. Elegant Massage, naturally, will

        argue otherwise, taking the position that State Farm should be liable for damages at least

        for the period when the orders were in effect. Of course, we need not—and should not—

        wade into the merits of these arguments at this stage. But that example serves to illustrate

        the individualized nature of the inquiry: determining whether a uniform policy of denying

        claims breached any class member’s contract requires an assessment of precisely why the

        class member submitted a claim for business loss.

               Given how much individual inquiry into causation and injury would be required

        under the district court’s formulation of the class, the predominance requirement is not

        satisfied. Accordingly, we must reverse the district court’s grant of class certification. And

        because we can resolve the class-certification issue that is properly before us on appeal

        without extending our jurisdiction to cover the interlocutory motion-to-dismiss issue,

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        review of that interlocutory question is not “necessary, or essential,” to resolve “the

        immediately appealable issue.” Dobson, 68 F.4th at 167 (quoting Ealy, 514 F. App’x at

        309). Put differently, because we can reach that conclusion without addressing State

        Farm’s motion to dismiss, we must do so.

                                                           B.

               Nothing in the majority’s analysis changes this straightforward conclusion.

               By beginning with the wrong question—whether the district court erred in denying

        the motion to dismiss—the majority not only exceeds its jurisdiction, but also renders a

        decision that contradicts itself. After all, the majority’s conclusion on the merits would

        create a single class-wide answer to the question of whether State Farm is liable for

        executive-order-related business closures under its form contract—“no.” So if we could

        begin with the merits question (which we cannot), then, according to the majority’s own

        logic, we should affirm the class-certification order. 4

               Nor does the majority explain why an analysis of class certification like the one I

        provided above is impossible or meaningless if we do not also analyze the denial of the

        motion to dismiss. Instead, the majority merely states that review of the motion-to-dismiss

        order is necessary to meaningful review of the class-certification decision because the

               4
                 To be sure, when a district court grants a motion to dismiss before addressing class
        certification, it has discretion to decline to certify a class. See Boulware v. Crossland
        Mortg. Corp., 291 F.3d 261, 268 n.4 (4th Cir. 2002). But the majority places this case in
        an odd procedural posture by addressing the merits of a motion to dismiss after a class has
        already been certified. The majority opinion does not explain why, in this posture, the class
        must be decertified if we grant the motion to dismiss. Nor does the majority opinion explain
        which specific Rule 23 requirement the class fails to satisfy once the motion to dismiss is
        granted.

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        “class certification order . . . relies in part on the legal conclusions reached in the district

        court’s denial of the motion to dismiss.” Majority Op. at 13.

               Certainly, the district court’s determination that State Farm could be held liable for

        COVID-19-related closures under the policy “guided” its later grant of class certification.

        Id. at 12. But a district court’s ruling on a motion to dismiss will always guide a later order

        granting class certification. When a district court grants class certification, it assumes that

        there are live issues to be resolved, and it will often reference issues from its prior

        discussion of the claims to determine if they can be resolved by common proof. This case

        is no different: in its order certifying the class, the district court assumed there were live

        claims and discussed the merits of the claims only to the extent it sought to determine

        whether they could be supported by common proof (e.g., evidence that each class member

        held a contract that was “the same”). Elegant Massage, 2022 WL 433006, at *18.

               Since nothing distinguishes what the district court did here from other class-

        certification orders, I see no limiting principle in the majority opinion that prevents our

        review of almost any denial of a motion to dismiss filed in a class action. And I struggle to

        understand how that change in the scope of our review is compatible with our well-

        established bar against “free-ranging merits inquiries at the certification stage.” EQT, 764

        F.3d at 358 (quoting Amgen, 568 U.S. at 466).

               The majority also cites our decision in Scott v. Family Dollar Stores, Inc., for the

        notion that an intervening change in law while the case is on appeal permits us to exercise

        pendent appellate jurisdiction. Majority Op. at 13 (citing Scott v. Family Dollar Stores,

        Inc., 733 F.3d 105, 111 (4th Cir. 2013)). Not so.

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               In Scott, we had jurisdiction pursuant to Rule 23(f) to review the district court’s

        denial of class certification, and we exercised pendent appellate jurisdiction to review the

        district court’s related denial of a motion for leave to amend. Scott, 733 F.3d at 111. In

        exercising pendent appellate jurisdiction, we first explained that the decisions were

        inextricably intertwined because the district court’s interpretation of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

        v. Dukes was the sole issue underlying both the class certification and denial of leave to

        amend. Scott, 733 F.3d at 111. The district court in Scott had denied class certification

        based on its interpretation of the commonality inquiry from Wal-Mart and had denied leave

        to amend as futile because it concluded, based on that same interpretation of Wal-Mart,

        that the plaintiffs could not allege commonality. Id. at 110. Therefore, the issues underlying

        both rulings were identical.

               We added that our review of the motion for leave to amend was necessary for

        meaningful review of the denial of class certification because “the proposed amended

        complaint include[d] specific company-wide policies that allegedly cause[d] a disparate

        impact.” Id. at 111. Since those allegations were not in the original complaint and could

        have satisfied the standard for class certification as set out in Wal-Mart even if the

        allegations in the original complaint did not, it was necessary to address the motion to

        amend so that we could review all the plaintiff’s relevant allegations in favor of class

        certification. Id.

               To be sure, Wal-Mart was decided while Scott was pending before the district court,

        and the district court based its decisions on its interpretation of that new precedent. But

        nothing in Scott suggests that Wal-Mart being decided in the middle of the case created a

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        special exception to permit our exercise of pendent appellate jurisdiction. Rather, our

        justifications for exercising pendent appellate jurisdiction would have been unchanged had

        Wal-Mart been decided long before the district applied its erroneous interpretation to both

        the motion to amend and the motion for class certification.

               Further, even if an intervening change in law could somehow independently support

        our exercise of pendent appellate jurisdiction, it does not do so here. The majority opinion

        states that our decision in Uncork & Create LLC v. Cincinnati Insurance Co., 27 F.4th 926

        (4th Cir. 2022), is “directly applicable” to this appeal. Majority Op. at 13. But that is wrong

        for two reasons. For one, unlike the Wal-Mart decision relevant in Scott, our decision in

        Uncork dealt with a merits issue, not the standards for class certification. Accordingly,

        while Uncork might have something to say about whether all the class members’ claims

        are meritorious, it has nothing to say about whether their claims should be adjudicated

        together. Moreover, our decision in Uncork dealt with contract interpretation principles

        under West Virginia state law, not Virginia state law as is at issue here. See Uncork, 27

        F.4th at 928. So, while Uncork provides persuasive authority, it is not as “directly

        applicable” to this case as the majority claims.

                                                      C.

               If any question remains about whether we can exercise pendent appellate

        jurisdiction here, our resolution of a prior appeal in this case confirms that we do not need

        to review the denial of the motion to dismiss in order to review the district court’s decision

        on class certification.

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               The district court denied State Farm’s motion to dismiss in December 2020. See

        Elegant Massage, LLC v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 506 F. Supp. 3d 360 (E.D. Va.

        2020). After Elegant Massage filed a May 2021 motion for class certification pursuant to

        Rule 23(b)(2), the district court sua sponte certified an “opt-in” Rule 23(b)(3) class. Elegant

        Massage, LLC v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., No. 2:20-cv-265, 2021 WL 3686668, at

        *11 (E.D. Va. Aug. 19, 2021). We permitted State Farm to appeal from that order pursuant

        to Rule 23(f). State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v. Elegant Massage, LLC, No. 21-255, 2021

        WL 4202678, at *1 (4th Cir. Sept. 2, 2021).

               On appeal, State Farm challenged the district court’s decision to sua sponte certify

        a class under Rule 23(b)(3) and presented arguments about contract interpretation that

        mirror those made in its motion to dismiss and in this appeal. E.g., Petition for Permission

        to Appeal, Elegant Massage, LLC v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., No. 21-255 (4th Cir.

        Aug. 31, 2021), ECF No. 2. Rather than address the motion to dismiss and throw out the

        whole case, we stayed within our proper jurisdictional bounds by reversing and remanding

        based solely on class certification. State Farm, 2021 WL 4202678, at *1. The majority

        opinion acknowledges the existence of that previous opinion, but it fails to offer any

        convincing explanation of why we must address the motion to dismiss now when we were

        not compelled to do so before. See Majority Op. at 6 n.4.

               Since the exercise of pendent appellate jurisdiction would take us beyond the

        boundaries set by Congress and our precedent, I would wait to review the merits until the

        district court issues a final order.

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                                                      III.

               My dispute with the majority over pendent appellate jurisdiction might seem

        abstract, but our disagreement about when we must stay within the bounds Congress has

        set on our review has significant practical implications. It is therefore worth highlighting a

        few consequences of the majority’s decision.

               First, while the majority’s opinion may at first appear to promote judicial

        economy—because the named plaintiff’s claims will be resolved on the merits sooner than

        if we were to limit our review to the order granting class certification—that benefit, in

        addition to not providing a justification to exercise jurisdiction where it is lacking, may

        well prove elusive. By resolving the case as to only the named plaintiff, the majority limits

        the preclusive effect of the final judgment. See 6 William Rubenstein, Alba Conte &

        Herbert B. Newberg, Newberg and Rubenstein on Class Actions § 18:15 (6th ed. 2022 &

        Supp. 2023) (explaining that while class action judgments “bind all class members who do

        not opt out,” “[i]n non-class litigation, only parties to a lawsuit can be bound and hence

        precluded by the judgment”). While the class members other than Elegant Massage will be

        bound by the precedential effect of our decision within the Fourth Circuit, they can attempt

        to bring an identical claim outside the Fourth Circuit—perhaps in Virginia state court or in

        either federal or state court in Illinois, where State Farm is headquartered—and convince

        that court to adopt the district court’s reading of Virginia law.

               Had the case played out differently, a ruling on the merits could have had a much

        broader preclusive effect. As described above, the class the district court certified here fails

        to satisfy the predominance requirement. But, if we properly limited our review to only the

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        class-certification decision, the district court could have taken another stab at certification

        on remand. And, in my view, the district court likely could have utilized Rule 23(b)(3) or

        Rule 23(b)(2) in conjunction with Rule 23(c)(4) to certify a class only as to the limited

        issue of the scope of insurance coverage under the form policy. See Gunnells, 348 F.3d at

        441 (“[S]ubsection 23(c)(4) should be used to separate ‘one or more’ claims that are

        appropriate for class treatment, provided that within that claim or claims (rather than within

        the entire lawsuit as a whole), the predominance and all other necessary requirements of

        subsections (a) and (b) of Rule 23 are met.” (quoting In re A.H. Robins Co., 880 F.2d 709,

        728 (4th Cir. 1989))); 5 Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(c)(4) (“When appropriate, an action may be

        brought or maintained as a class action with respect to particular issues.”). With an issue

        class certified, a merits order applying the majority’s interpretation of Virginia contract

        law would have bound all class members through claim preclusion.

               Second, the majority’s more flexible exercise of pendent appellate jurisdiction

        changes the incentives for future parties to file petitions for review pursuant to Rule 23(f).

        Exercising jurisdiction here encourages future defendants to seek our opinion whenever a

        district court denies a motion to dismiss and then grants class certification. That means

               5
                 In Gunnells, we focused on using Rule 23(c)(4) to split “claims,” but we
        recognized that Rule 23(c)(4) permits a class action on “particular issues” and approvingly
        discusses the approach of certifying a class with respect to individual issues. Gunnells, 348
        F.3d at 441 (“Nor are we alone. . . . Several courts and a number of distinguished
        commentators have explicitly endorsed a broad issue specific predominance analysis of
        Rule 23.” (emphases omitted)). And other circuits have consistently found Rule 23(c)(4)
        to permit certifying a class with respect to a particular issue, not just a particular claim. See
        Harris v. Med. Transp. Mgmt., Inc., 77 F.4th 746, 761–62 (D.C. Cir. 2023) (collecting
        cases).

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        more defendants will file Rule 23(f) petitions in hopes that a merits issue will catch our

        attention, even if a district court’s evaluation of class certification was otherwise correct.

               Third, by exercising jurisdiction in what might seem like a straightforward

        extension of our caselaw on contract interpretation from West Virginia law to Virginia law,

        we risk permitting early review of the merits in other cases that are far more complex. By

        denying us statutory authority to conduct interlocutory review outside of narrow

        circumstances, such as those permitted by Rule 23(f) or § 1292(b), Congress expressed an

        inclination for keeping inquisitive appellate judges from weighing in on the merits of

        claims before the facts are fully developed. I worry that the majority’s exercise of

        jurisdiction opens Pandora’s box by providing the basis on which future panels may justify

        inquiries into the merits of class actions that neither I nor the members of the majority

        would think ripe for appellate review.

               Deciding this appeal in the manner that the majority has might save some time and

        expense in resolving the named plaintiff’s case compared to ordering the class decertified

        without addressing the motion to dismiss. But Congress has not permitted us to take that

        shortcut, nor is that shortcut necessary for our review of the issues Congress has permitted

        us to consider. I therefore concur in the judgment only with respect to the majority’s

        decision to reverse the district court’s grant of class certification. I respectfully dissent as

        to those portions of the majority opinion that address the district court’s decision on the

        motion to dismiss and as to its instructions to dismiss the entire case on remand.

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