Summary judgment

A court decision resolving a claim or issue without trial when no material fact is genuinely disputed and the law favors one side.

Motion for summary judgment: A request asking a court to resolve a claim or issue without a trial because the governing standard is satisfied. This motion asks the court to enter the decision described on this page.
Pleading: A formal document in which a party states claims, defenses, or responses in a lawsuit. Pleadings frame the claims that a summary-judgment motion may resolve.
Judgment on the pleadings: A ruling resolving a case from the pleadings alone after they are closed, without relying on outside evidence. It resembles summary judgment but ordinarily rests on pleadings rather than a developed evidentiary record.
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure: The rules governing procedure in United States federal district courts in civil cases. Rule 56 supplies the principal federal procedure for summary judgment.
Material fact: A fact whose presence or absence could affect the outcome under the governing law. Only disputes over facts that could change the legal outcome block summary judgment.
Discovery (law): The pretrial process through which parties obtain relevant information and evidence from one another and others. Summary judgment commonly follows discovery, when the evidentiary record can be assessed.
Default judgment: A judgment entered against a party that fails to defend or otherwise respond as required. Unlike summary judgment, it rests on procedural default, not an assessment that evidence leaves no factual dispute.
Rule 56: The Federal Rule of Civil Procedure that governs summary judgment in federal civil cases. Its text sets the federal standard and procedures for seeking this judgment.
Genuine dispute: A disagreement supported by evidence on which a reasonable factfinder could decide for either side. A genuine dispute over a material fact ordinarily requires trial rather than judgment.
Admissible evidence: Evidence that a court permits a factfinder to consider under applicable rules. A factual assertion must be supported by evidence the court may consider.

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