What is a Motion for Summary Judgment?
Frequently, during the litigation process one or both of the parties involved will attempt to use a procedural device known as the motion for summary judgment to dismiss certain issues from the case. As the name implies, the motion for summary judgment is a motion filed by one of the parties seeking to obtain a judgment on all or part of the case in a summary fashion. An issue or case which is decided by summary judgment is not allowed to be presented to a judge or jury at trial. In other words, the motion for summary judgment is a method to decide an issue (or the whole case), without the need for a trial. The legal standard imposed by most jurisdictions requires that in order for a summary judgment to be granted by the court, the party moving for summary judgment must demonstrate that there are “no genuine issues of material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” What this means in laymen’s terms is that the undisputed facts presented in a particu
