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A summary judgment is a legal decision in a case made when one party to a lawsuit requests summary judgment by pre-trial motion. The idea behind summary judgment is that if a fact is undisputed then there is no need for a trial on that issue. If there are enough undisputed facts, then a judgment may be rendered as a matter of law.
The moving party may reference various documents in motion; these may include depositions, party admissions, documents received during discovery (such as contracts, emails, letters, and certified government documents). The parties also usually present legal memoranda to the court to support or oppose the underlying law that allows the moving party to make the summary judgment motion and seek swift judicial determination of the dispute. The court may allow for oral argument if the judge wishes to question the parties on the issues before the court.
Summary judgment is awarded if the moving (or cross-moving) party can successfully argue that the undisputed facts and the law make it clear that it is not possible for the other party to prevail if the matter proceeds to a trial. In some legal systems, the court also has the power to grant summary judgment in favor of a nonmoving party. A factual dispute does not preclude summary judgment unless the disputed fact is outcome determinative under the governing law. The court must consider all materials in the light most favorable to a party before granting summary judgment against that party. See Adickes v. S.H. Kress & Co., 398 U.S. 144, (1970), and Celotex v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317 (1986).
In other words, if a trial could result in the jury (or judge in a bench trial) deciding in the favor of the opposing party, a summary judgment is inappropriate. A decision granting summary judgment can be appealed. If the decision denies the motion for summary judgment, the case continues on its normal course, so the denial cannot be appealed except in those systems that allow interlocutory appeals. In United States federal courts, a denial of summary judgment cannot be appealed because of the requirements of 28 U.S.C. 1291 and 28 U.S.C. 1292 (the final judgment rule).
Sometimes a court may award partial summary judgment when one of the causes of action is undisputed on the facts, or if there is not satisfactory opposing evidence that puts the allegations of the moving party in question.
Partly because of workload issues, it is not uncommon for the summary judgments of lower level US courts in complex cases to be overturned on appeal. A grant of summary judgment is reviewed de novo, both as to the determination that there is no remaining genuine issue of material fact and that the moving party was entitled to judgment as a matter of law.
Proceedings for summary judgments in United States district courts are governed by Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. A motion for judgment on the pleadings or a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted will be treated as a motion for summary judgment if matters outside the pleadings are presented to the court.
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