Also known as: MSJs · motion for summary judgment · summary judgment motion
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A procedural device by which a party requests the court to enter judgment without a trial. The motion succeeds when the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and that the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.
Madison Meyers sued Mercury Industries for breach of contract. Discovery closed on March 1. Mercury Industries filed its motion for summary judgment on March 25. The court accepted the motion because it was filed within the thirty-day window after discovery closed.
Melissa Mills filed a complaint alleging conspiracy. The defendants moved to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6). After the court denied the motion, the defendants filed an MSJ supported by affidavits showing no evidence of agreement. The court granted the motion because the record revealed no genuine issue of material fact.
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Ming Ma sued Meridian Motors for bad-faith denial of an insurance claim and sought punitive damages. Meridian Motors filed an MSJ arguing that the evidence could not support an award meeting constitutional limits. The court granted partial summary judgment and capped any potential punitive award.
Miranda Morales sued a public university after it denied funding for her student publication. The university filed an MSJ asserting that its funding decision was viewpoint neutral. The court granted the motion after finding no genuine dispute that the denial rested on permissible content-neutral criteria.
Matthew Martinez sued Millennium Media for publishing an allegedly false article. Millennium Media moved for summary judgment on the ground that Martinez was a public figure who could not prove actual malice. The court granted the motion after reviewing the record and finding no evidence of knowing falsity.
Melanie Morris sued a nonresident defendant in state court. The defendant filed an MSJ asserting lack of personal jurisdiction based on insufficient contacts. The court treated the motion as a Rule 12(b)(2) challenge and dismissed the action after finding no minimum contacts.
A party may file a motion for summary judgment at any time until thirty days after the close of all discovery unless a local rule or court order sets a different deadline.
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Yes. Once an attorney has appeared for a party, later-filed papers including an MSJ must be served on that attorney rather than directly on the party.
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No. Lack of subject-matter jurisdiction is a threshold defense that should be raised by a motion to dismiss rather than by summary judgment, which assumes the court already has power to act.
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A defendant should raise insufficient process by a pre-answer motion to dismiss rather than waiting to file an MSJ, because defenses based on process defects are waived if not asserted early.
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…pending in the state court. These representations were also repeated in the affidavit he executed and filed in support of his motion for summary judgment. Dr. Hallford is, therefore, in the position of seeking, in a federal court, declaratory and injunctive relief with respect to the same statutes under which he stands charged in criminal…