Respond to a motion for summary judgment

What is a motion for summary judgment?

Usually, if the parties involved in a non-criminal (civil) court case can’t agree on how to settle the case, the case must go to trial. A trial is a court hearing where you and the other party call witnesses and present evidence for the judge to decide what the facts are and make a final decision.  

But if a party believes there’s no real disagreement about the facts, they can make a written request to the court (a motion) to decide the case without a full trial. This motion for summary judgment says that the parties don’t disagree about (don’t dispute) the facts most needed to decide the case (there are no genuine issues of material fact to be resolved). A trial, where a judge or jury decides the facts, isn’t needed. 

A judge can grant or deny a motion for summary judgment:

• If the judge grants the motion, the party who filed the motion (the moving party) wins. 
• If the judge denies the motion, the case will continue to trial.

You can file a motion for summary judgment in any civil case, including family, housing, and consumer cases. 

• In family cases involving child support and children who have gotten public assistance, for example, the attorney representing the state may file for summary judgment if it’s likely that everyone agrees (there’s no dispute) over who the other parent is. 
• In a consumer case when you’re sued to collect a debt, after you file an Answer, the creditor will likely file for summary judgment with proof that you owe the debt and failed to pay it (your account and proof of default). 

What are the downsides of summary judgment? 

If the judge agrees with the moving party’s version of the facts, that usually means that the moving party will win the case altogether. If you’re not the moving party, and the judge grants summary judgment, you’ll likely lose the case. The judge will give the moving party what they’ve asked for in their court papers. 

If the judge denies the motion for summary judgment, you’ve won just the right to continue to trial. You haven’t won the case outright.  

What if we disagree about a very few, but not most facts?

You might disagree about some facts (some facts may be in dispute), but if those facts aren’t needed to decide the claim, the judge can still grant summary judgment.

Even if you disagree over just one major fact, you should respond to a summary judgment motion. For example, someone suing you in a family law case says you two are married, but you’re not. If you don’t dispute that fact, you could be ordered to pay alimony or split property with the other person because the judge believes that you’re married. 

When will the judge grant a Motion for Summary Judgment? 

The court will grant a motion for summary judgment if both of these are true: 

• There’s no genuine issue of material fact.
• The moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.