Summary Judgment

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.

Essentially, a party can obtain summary judgment if it is able to clearly demonstrate that its opponent has no real prospect of succeeding in the litigation.As no oral evidence can be given on a summary judgment application, it will only succeed if the applicant can establish the strength of its case on paper alone.

Instead the party who believes that the undisputed facts compel a ruling in his or her favor will file a motion for summary judgment. The motion asks the court to consider the undisputed facts and apply the law to them, and argues that the law requires a judgment for the party bringing the motion.

It is used when there is no dispute as to the material facts of the case and a party is entitled to judgment as a MATTER OF LAW. Any party may move for summary judgment; it is not uncommon for both parties to seek it.

By motion for summary judgment, I'll be referring to motions for summary adjudication as well, which are treated more favorably in federal court than in state courts such as California.Many defendants automatically file a motion summary judgment in every case, even if they don't reasonably expect to win it.

What happens during a motion for summary judgment hearing?At the hearing, each party will be given a certain amount of time to reiterate their argument in front of the judge. The judge may ask some questions and at the end of the hearing the judge will grant or deny the motion.

The purpose of summary judgment is to avoid unnecessary trials. It may also simplify a trial, as when partial summary judgment dispenses with certain issues or claims. For example, a court might grant partial summary judgment in a personal injury case on the issue of liability.

A summary judgement occurs when, in a civil case, one party wants to move to a court decision without a trial. That only happens however, when the two parties agree to the critical facts of the issue, and the law allows summary judgement based on the undisputed facts at hand.

As a noun, an abridgment; brief; compendium; digest; also a short application to a court or judge, without the formality of a full proceeding. The term as used in connection with legal proceedings means a short, concise, and immediate proceeding.