Summary judgment will be granted if, upon all the papers and proof submitted, the cause of action or defense is established sufficiently to warrant the court as a matter of law in directing judgment in favor of any party.
Legal burdens in summary judgment include the burden of proof, the burden of production, and the burden of persuasion. If the moving party does not meet its initial burden of production, the nonmoving party is not obligated to respond and can defeat the motion for summary judgment without producing any evidence.
Judgments may be classified as in personam, in rem, or quasi in rem. An in personam, or personal, judgment, the type most commonly rendered by courts, imposes a personal liability or obligation upon a person or group to some other person or group.
It is a fundamental survival skill on summary judgment to make the motion user-friendly for the Court and its staff. This is best accomplished by being absolutely clear in citations to the docket and ensuring that the referenced exhibits and evidence are in the record and readily accessible.
If the Court grants the full motion, the moving party obtains an appealable final judgment. On the other hand, if the judge grants summary judgment on only some claims, the order is not an appealable final judgment because some remaining claims/defenses in the case must be resolved.
Rule 3212. Motion for summary judgment. (a) Time; kind of action. Any party may move for summary judgment in any action, after issue has been joined; provided however, that the court may set a date after which no such motion may be made, such date being no earlier than thirty days after the filing of the note of issue.
An Order to Show Cause is a method that a party may use to request that the court reopen their case, usually after a default judgment has been entered. A default judgment can be entered if a defendant fails to answer a summons, or fails to appear for trial or hearing.