Legal Research & Writing Issue Spotting Practice

You represent Orion Logistics in a contract dispute against Apex Manufacturing regarding a 2018 supply agreement worth $4.2 million. The contract contains a 'force majeure' clause triggered by 'supply chain disruptions beyond reasonable control.' Apex ceased shipments during a regional power grid failure, claiming this clause applies. Orion sued in state court, but the case was removed to federal court based on diversity jurisdiction. The Supreme Court of your state has never interpreted the scope of this specific contractual language. However, in a 2009 slip-and-fall litigation involving a different clause, the state's Intermediate Court of Appeals included a two-sentence footnote stating that 'commercial force majeure clauses generally exclude foreseeable infrastructure failures.' Conversely, the Supreme Court of the neighboring state issued a published opinion in 2021 holding that such clauses cover power failures if they are not explicitly excluded. Meanwhile, a federal district judge in your state issued an unpublished, non-precedential order in a separate 2023 breach-of-contract case involving different parties, finding that 'grid failures are always foreseeable and thus never constitute force majeure.' You are preparing a memorandum of law to assist lead counsel in formulating the argument for the pending summary judgment motion.

Which set of authorities should you prioritize when constructing the legal argument for your memorandum to ensure it aligns with the standards of your state's legal hierarchy?