The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit—which includes California—occasionally encounters questions of California law that it cannot resolve. When that happens, the Ninth Circuit can “certify” the question to the California Supreme Court—asking the California Court to determine the boundaries of California law. The Ninth Circuit then accepts the decision of the California Supreme Court, which is binding in both the federal courts of the Ninth Circuit and California state courts. The federal court reserves certification for significant issues, including those with important public policy ramifications, that have not been resolved by the California courts—it is not used for “run of the mill” cases.

In the recent case of Ixchel Pharma v. Biogen, 930 F.3d 1031 (2019), the Ninth Circuit asked the California Supreme Court to resolve two questions “because of their significance for business torts in California”:

Does California’s ban on non-compete agreements, Business & Professions Code §16600, apply only to contracts between employers and employees, or does it also apply to contracts between two businesses?

Does the requirement that a plaintiff plead an independently wrongful act to state a claim for intentional interference with an at-will employment contract apply to contracts outside the employment context?