Pullman Act

Pullman Act

This bill amends the federal judicial code to allow federal district courts, when a civil action involves a challenge to an unsettled and ambiguous question of state law on federal constitutional grounds, to:

• stay the action, pending resolution of the question of state law, if its resolution could avoid the need to reach or materially change the federal constitutional issue and there are adequate means under state law to resolve the unsettled state law question; and
• certify the question to the appropriate court of that state.

Federal appeals courts shall have jurisdiction of appeals from federal district court interlocutory orders that refuse to stay such actions.