Court Opinion

ID: 9487048
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 12:06:53.666904+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:52:04.357630
License: Public Domain

RIPPLE, Circuit Judge,
concurring.
I join the judgment of the Court and that part of the principal opinion that determines that Illinois would adopt the majority approach to the “battle of the forms” of UCC § 2-207. This resolution is a principled approach to the dilemma faced by a federal court when, in the absence of any pronouncement by the state courts, it is required to determine the position of a state on the interpretation of a section of the Uniform Commercial Code. We have under those circumstances, every right to assume that the state courts would foster the shared interest of all states in the uniform interpretation of the Code. See UCC § 1-102. Here, moreover, there is evidence that Illinois, when called upon to interpret the Code, has followed the majority approach.
As I have on other similar occasions, I respectfully decline to express, by way of an opinion of this court, a view on whether the majority interpretation of § 2-207 is preferable to the other interpretations. Federal courts sitting in diversity must, from time to time, determine the content of state law in order to decide the cases before them. It is, however, the constitutional prerogative of the states to determine the course of their jurisprudence and, in my view, our respect for that prerogative counsels that we refrain from taking an institutional position as a court on such matters. The National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws has appointed a drafting committee to revise Article 2 of the Uniform Commercial Code and that body is considering changes to § 2-207 with the hope that it will not only eliminate the “battle of the forms” but also make the section more responsive to the technological changes that are taking place in the manner in which commercial agreements are made. During that process, I am sure that the Commissioners welcome the perspective of all who have an expertise and interest in the question, and I would hope that my colleagues on the federal bench who have views on the matter would join all other members of the profession in the dialogue currently underway on the future shape of § 2-207. However, I believe that, as an institution, we should stay within the confines of our constitutional role and make the best “Erie guess”1 that we can. The principal opinion adopts a principled approach to that task and I am pleased to join in its adoption.

. See Dolores K. Sloviter, A Federal Judge Views Jurisdiction through the Lens of Federalism, 78 Va.L.Rev. 1671, 1679 (1992) (employing the term “Erie guess”).