Enabling the Federal Rules

Abstract:     
This Article, written for a symposium concerning the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Shady Grove Orthopedic Associates v. Allstate Insurance Co., presents a hypothetical alternative concurring opinion in the case. Although agreeing with Shady Grove's ultimate result, this concurrence takes a different approach from that of the actual concurring opinion authored by Justice Stevens. Offering a more comprehensive historical background to develop a clarified analytical framework, this Article proposes a unifying approach consistent with the Court's prior decisions that would better serve the purposes underlying the Rules Enabling Act by examining Federal Rules for compliance with the Act at only one point in time: the time of the Rule's promulgation.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 23

Keywords: federal courts, Rules Enabling Act, Rules of Decision Act, Erie doctrine

Accepted Paper Series