Certification of Questions of State Law

(a) Certification and Stay. When state law permits, this Court may certify a state law question to that state’s highest court in accordance with that court’s rules and may stay the appeal to await the state court’s decision. (b) Motion for Certification and Stay. Certification may be raised on motion of a party or on this Court’s own motion. A party seeking certification must file a separate motion before filing its brief and Fed. R. Bankr. P. 8013 shall apply. A motion to certify is ordinarily referred to the panel of judges assigned to decide 91 the appeal on the merits and is considered at the same time as the arguments on the merits.