A Motion for Summary Judgment can be filed by any party in a lawsuit (defendant or plaintiff) who wants the Court to enter a final judgment on all or some of the parties' claims or defenses before trial. The Motion for Summary Judgment is governed by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56.
C.C.P. § 436 allows for a motion to strike “any irrelevant, false, or improper matter asserted in any pleading” or portion of a pleading “not drawn of filed in conformity with the laws of this state.” A motion to strike is proper “when a substantive defect is clear from the face of a complaint.” (PH II, Inc.
To request summary judgment, a party must file a motion in writing. The party filing the motion is known as the “moving party.” The party responding to the other party's motion is known as the “non-moving party.” For information on motions generally, please refer to A Guide to Motions for Unrepresented Complainants.
The motion may be made at any time after 60 days have elapsed since the general appearance in the action or proceeding of each party against whom the motion is directed or at any earlier time after the general appearance that the court, with or without notice and upon good cause shown, may direct.
(f) The motion provided for in this section may be made only after one of the following conditions has occurred: (1) If the moving party is a plaintiff, and the defendant has already filed his or her answer to the complaint and the time for the plaintiff to demur to the answer has expired.
Notice of Motion and Supporting Papers: The notice of motion and all supporting documents must be filed 81 days before the hearing (plus time for service). Previously, this deadline was set at 75 days. Opposition: Any opposition to the motion must now be filed 20 days before the hearing.
If the notice is served by mail, the required 75-day 81-day period of notice shall be increased by 5 days if the place of address is within the State of California, 10 days if the place of address is outside the State of California but within the United States, and 20 days if the place of address is outside the United ...
Unless a different time is set by local rule or the court orders otherwise, a party may file a motion for summary judgment at any time until 30 days after the close of all discovery.
A response must be in writing and include the same supporting documents as a motion for summary judgment. The opposition to the motion for summary judgment should also include a statement of facts showing the dispute and supporting documents.
A summary judgment means the court believes there's no dispute worth resolving. However, this isn't always true. To avoid a summary judgment, it's essential to file a counter-motion with a supporting memorandum. If that step isn't taken, the judge may grant the motion.