Ferrell v. Allstate Insurance Co.
Supreme Court of New Mexico
188 P.3d 1156 (2008)
Ferrell and other Allstate (defendant) policyholders sued in New Mexico for breach of contract over undisclosed monthly-payment fees. The trial court certified a 13-state class, finding no conflict of laws barred applying New Mexico law throughout. The court of appeals decertified the class, reasoning the 13 states' laws might potentially conflict with New Mexico's, making the case unmanageable. The New Mexico Supreme Court granted certiorari.
Whether the party opposing certification of a multi-state class action on conflict-of-law grounds must establish that the laws of the relevant states actually and materially conflict with the forum's law, rather than merely differ in some hypothetical way.