“Law360 Employment Authority – California Cases To Watch In 2022”
Law360
By: Dorothy Atkins
“Mary-Christine “M.C.” Sungaila, chair of the appellate practice at Buchalter, told Law360 that over the past year, Ninth Circuit panels have been certifying more questions of law to the California Supreme Court, asking the Golden State’s top court to clarify novel questions of state law before the federal appellate court weighs in.
The trip to the California Supreme Court tacks on at least two years of litigation to already lengthy legal disputes, which Sungaila noted can delay resolutions and serve as a “kind of shock to the system.” But allowing the state justices to clarify state statutes can be more efficient to the development of the law in the long run, she said.
Many of the cases that the Ninth Circuit has recently asked the California Supreme Court to take up — like wage-and-hour cases brought by United and Delta Air Lines pilots and flight attendants — have involved employment law. But looking forward, the state justices have multiple cases on their docket from the Ninth Circuit that focus on the interpretation of state insurance statutes, Sungaila said.”
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