Quackenbush v. Allstate Insurance Company

United States Supreme Court

517 U.S. 706 (1996)

Relevant factsFree

California's Insurance Commissioner (plaintiff), as trustee of a liquidated insurer, sued Allstate (defendant) in state court for breach of reinsurance agreements; after Allstate removed the case based on diversity, the district court abstained and remanded to state court, reasoning federal adjudication might interfere with California's regulation of the insurer's liquidation, and the Ninth Circuit treated that remand as appealable.

IssueFree

Whether an abstention-based order remanding a suit to state court is appealable as a final order.

Holding & reasoning

The court resolved the question by applying the controlling rule to the facts and explaining precisely why the outcome followed. Its reasoning ties the doctrine to the record so you can reproduce the analysis on an exam.

Procedural history, concurrence & dissent

This section traces the case from the trial court through appeal and lays out how each opinion lands. Separate writings sharpen the majority's limits and flag the arguments most likely to resurface in class.

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