Uniform Certification Of Questions Of Law

(Federal Courts and Other Appellate Courts) (a) Power to Answer. The supreme court may answer questions of law certified to it by the United States Supreme Court, a court of appeals of the United States, a United States district court, or the highest appellate or intermediate appellate court of any other state, when requested by the certifying court and the following conditions are met: (1) questions of law of this state are involved in any proceeding before the certifying court which may be determinative of the proceeding; (2) it appears to the certifying court there is no controlling precedent in the decisions of the supreme court of this state. (b) Method of Invoking. This rule may be invoked by an order of any of the courts referred to in subdivision (a) upon the court's own motion or upon the motion of any party to the proceeding. (c) Contents of Certification Order. A certification order must contain: (1) a question of law formulated in a manner allowing the question to be answered by a "yes" or "no"; (2) a statement of all facts relevant to the question certified, showing fully the nature of the controversy in which the question arose; (3) a statement demonstrating there is no controlling precedent in the decisions of the supreme court. (d) Preparation of Certification Order. The certification order must be prepared by the certifying court, signed by the judge presiding at the hearing, and forwarded to the supreme court by the clerk of the certifying court. The supreme court may require the original or a copy of the record, or of any portion of the record, before the certifying court to be filed with the certification order if, in the opinion of the court, the record or a portion of the record may be necessary in answering the questions. (e) Fees and Costs. Fees and costs are the same as in civil appeals docketed before the supreme court and must be equally divided among the parties unless the certifying court orders otherwise in its certification order. (f) Briefs and Argument. Unless the certifying court specifies the order and time within which the briefs must be filed and served, all proceedings, including oral argument, in the supreme court will be governed by these rules and the plaintiff will be deemed to be the appellant. (g) Opinion. The written opinion of the supreme court stating the law governing the questions certified must be sent by the clerk of the supreme court to the certifying court and to the parties. (h) Power to Certify. The supreme court, on its own motion or the motion of any party, may order certification of questions of law to the highest court of any state when the following conditions are met: (1) it appears to the court that there are questions of law of the receiving state involved in any proceeding before the court which may be determinative of the proceeding; (2) it appears to the court that there are no controlling precedents in the decisions of the highest court of the receiving state. (i) Procedure for Certifying. The procedure for certification from this state to the receiving state is that provided in the laws of the receiving state. (j) Severability. If any provision of this rule or the application of this rule is held invalid, the invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of the rule which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application. (k) Construction. This rule must be construed to effectuate its general purpose, which is to make uniform the law of those states which enact the Uniform Certification of Questions of Law Rule. (l) Withdrawal of Order. A certification order may be withdrawn by subsequent order of the certifying court before issuance of the written opinion of the supreme court. (m) Short Title. This rule may be cited as the Uniform Certification of Questions of Law Rule.