Summary Judgment

Summary Judgment

A summary judgment motion is a pretrial motion in which a party seeks a decision on one or more issues in the case, thus making a trial on that issue unnecessary. Under Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the judge will grant summary judgment if there are no genuine issues of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. The basic idea behind summary judgment is that issues based on undisputed facts do not require a trial. If the facts are undisputed, there are no issues for the jury to decide, and the court can issue judgment based on the facts set forth in the pleadings. A summary judgment motion can narrow the issues left for trial, or maybe even dispose of all of the plaintiff's claims, saving the parties the time and expense involved with full-blown litigation. If you have questions about summary judgment, talk to an experienced litigation attorney at Vincent M. Spohn, P.C. in Napa, California.

Summary Judgment Procedure

Either the plaintiff or the defendant (or both) can bring a summary judgment motion. The moving party (the party seeking summary judgment) submits a statement of undisputed facts; the legal memorandum, which outlines the party's arguments, cites case law and explains the legal basis upon which the court should grant the motion; and any exhibits, which are supplemental documents that support the party's arguments. These supplemental documents may include deposition testimony, admissions (admitted facts) from witnesses, affidavits (a written statement of facts made by a witness under oath), documents received during discovery and other collaborating evidence including contracts, letters, emails and pictures.

What qualifies as an undisputed fact is not absolute. The non-moving party (the party defending the summary judgment motion) will argue that factual issues exist for a jury to decide, thus meriting a trial. If the court believes that the non-moving party has a chance of prevailing at trial, it must preserve the party's right to have a jury review and evaluate the evidence. Essentially, if a trial could result in the jury ultimately finding in favor of the non-moving party, summary judgment is inappropriate, and the court should deny the motion.

If the moving party can successfully argue that the undisputed facts and law make it clear that the other party cannot prevail at trial, the court should grant summary judgment, thereby ending the lawsuit. Sometimes, a court will grant summary judgment on only some of the issues, leaving the remaining issues for trial.

Summary judgment is appropriate to resolve questions of law and actions involving unambiguous contracts. However, it is generally not appropriate for issues involving motivation, intent, credibility or other subjective facts central to the underlying case.

Motion to Dismiss

In federal court, instead of responding to a complaint with an answer, the defendant may decide to file a motion that raises the following defenses: lack of subject-matter jurisdiction; lack of personal jurisdiction; improper venue; insufficient process; insufficient service of process; failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted; and failure to join a party under Rule 19. Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b). A motion for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted is also known as a motion to dismiss and it is similar to a summary judgment motion in that it may dispose of some or all of the plaintiff's claims. For cases filed in federal district court, motions to dismiss are governed by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). Generally, there are similar motions available in the various state courts. A motion to dismiss asserts that under no set of facts can the plaintiff prevail and he or she has failed to state any claim for which relief can be granted. If the court grants a motion to dismiss, the plaintiff's claims are dismissed and the lawsuit does not proceed. If the court denies a motion to dismiss, the plaintiff can pursue his or her claims. A court may also decide to allow certain claims to proceed, but dismiss other claims.

Conclusion

Summary judgment procedures are complex, but, depending on the circumstances, a summary judgment motion can be a useful tool for disposing of issues before trial and narrowing the remaining issues. If you have questions about summary judgment or a motion to dismiss, talk to an experienced trial lawyer at Vincent M. Spohn, P.C. in Napa, California.

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