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So what?
In essence, that's what a motion for summary judgment asks. But let's back up a little.
First, what is a “motion"? Motions are the way attorneys maneuver around a lawsuit. A motion is an application made to the court for the purpose of obtaining a rule or order directing some act to be done in favor of the applicant. Say, for example, I represent a party to a lawsuit who would like the court to order the opposing party to produce some bit of potential evidence he has heretofore refused to produce. In order to compel its production, I might file a motion with the court asking (or in legalese, “praying”) the court to force my opponent to cough up the object of my professional desire.
The types of motions which may potentially be filed with the court are nearly as limitless as the imagination of creative counsel. What they have in common, however, is that every motion asks the court to order the other side of the dispute to perform a particular act or to refrain from performing a particular act or to grant the applicant some clearly identified species of “relief.”
In a legal sense, relief is getting what you want. Black's Law Dictionary defines relief as “deliverance from oppression, wrong or injustice.” More simply, when it comes to the law, relief is simply getting what you want. Thus, in my example of the withheld evidence, relief would be the court ordering the other party to produce the evidence withheld.
So what's a summary judgment?
To get the concept of summary judgment, you've first got to master two concepts — “summary” and “judgment.” Let's start with judgment.
Judgment is, as the Rose Bowl folks are fond of saying, “the granddaddy of ‘em all.” It is the official pronouncement or decision of the court charged with sorting out the dispute as the to the respective rights and claims of the parties to the suit. Judgment is the law's last word in a judicial controversy — it being the determination by the court of the rights of the parties upon the matters submitted to it in an action or proceeding.
Summary in a sense means “in a nutshell”. Stated more precisely, it is a shortcut. It also infers immediacy and something which is by its nature peremptory.
Summary judgment, then, is a procedural device whereby a party to a lawsuit may move the court for a ruling where the proponent of the motion believes and asserts that there is no genuine issue of material fact and that he is, accordingly, entitled to prevail in the dispute as a matter of law.
The motion advances the proposition that, as there is no genuine issue of material issue of fact, there is, accordingly, no reason to slug through the whole course of proceedings and, instead, the court should simply abridge the process and find in favor of the applicant now. In other words, the other party simply cannot command sufficient facts to support this case.
So what?
Now back to “so what?” Asking for a summary judgment says, in essence, that even if everything my opponent says is true, he still cannot prevail as a matter of law. In other words, “so what"? And because he cannot prevail as a matter of law — that is, because the law in these factual circumstances will not support his claims — let's not all go through the travail of litigation. Instead, the court should simply dismiss the matter now.
A motion for summary judgment may dispose of all or part of a claim and may be made on the basis of the formal filings made with the court, other portions of the case, affidavits and a variety of outside material.
In the end, summary judgment preserves judicial economy and serves the interests of a prompt and just outcome to disputes. If there is not enough fight or bite in the dog to support a given suit, the dog should simply not be in the fight.
Rohn K. Robbins is an attorney licensed before the Bars of Colorado and California who practices in the Vail Valley. His practice areas include: Business and commercial transactions, real estate and development, homeowner's associations, family law and divorce and civil litigation. Robbins may be heard on Wednesday nights at 7 p.m. on KZYR radio (97.7 FM) as host of “Community Focus.” Robbins may be reached at 970-926-4461 or at robbins@colorado.net
In essence, that's what a motion for summary judgment asks. But let's back up a little.
First, what is a “motion"? Motions are the way attorneys maneuver around a lawsuit. A motion is an application made to the court for the purpose of obtaining a rule or order directing some act to be done in favor of the applicant. Say, for example, I represent a party to a lawsuit who would like the court to order the opposing party to produce some bit of potential evidence he has heretofore refused to produce. In order to compel its production, I might file a motion with the court asking (or in legalese, “praying”) the court to force my opponent to cough up the object of my professional desire.
The types of motions which may potentially be filed with the court are nearly as limitless as the imagination of creative counsel. What they have in common, however, is that every motion asks the court to order the other side of the dispute to perform a particular act or to refrain from performing a particular act or to grant the applicant some clearly identified species of “relief.”
In a legal sense, relief is getting what you want. Black's Law Dictionary defines relief as “deliverance from oppression, wrong or injustice.” More simply, when it comes to the law, relief is simply getting what you want. Thus, in my example of the withheld evidence, relief would be the court ordering the other party to produce the evidence withheld.
So what's a summary judgment?
To get the concept of summary judgment, you've first got to master two concepts — “summary” and “judgment.” Let's start with judgment.
Judgment is, as the Rose Bowl folks are fond of saying, “the granddaddy of ‘em all.” It is the official pronouncement or decision of the court charged with sorting out the dispute as the to the respective rights and claims of the parties to the suit. Judgment is the law's last word in a judicial controversy — it being the determination by the court of the rights of the parties upon the matters submitted to it in an action or proceeding.
Summary in a sense means “in a nutshell”. Stated more precisely, it is a shortcut. It also infers immediacy and something which is by its nature peremptory.
Summary judgment, then, is a procedural device whereby a party to a lawsuit may move the court for a ruling where the proponent of the motion believes and asserts that there is no genuine issue of material fact and that he is, accordingly, entitled to prevail in the dispute as a matter of law.
The motion advances the proposition that, as there is no genuine issue of material issue of fact, there is, accordingly, no reason to slug through the whole course of proceedings and, instead, the court should simply abridge the process and find in favor of the applicant now. In other words, the other party simply cannot command sufficient facts to support this case.
So what?
Now back to “so what?” Asking for a summary judgment says, in essence, that even if everything my opponent says is true, he still cannot prevail as a matter of law. In other words, “so what"? And because he cannot prevail as a matter of law — that is, because the law in these factual circumstances will not support his claims — let's not all go through the travail of litigation. Instead, the court should simply dismiss the matter now.
A motion for summary judgment may dispose of all or part of a claim and may be made on the basis of the formal filings made with the court, other portions of the case, affidavits and a variety of outside material.
In the end, summary judgment preserves judicial economy and serves the interests of a prompt and just outcome to disputes. If there is not enough fight or bite in the dog to support a given suit, the dog should simply not be in the fight.
Rohn K. Robbins is an attorney licensed before the Bars of Colorado and California who practices in the Vail Valley. His practice areas include: Business and commercial transactions, real estate and development, homeowner's associations, family law and divorce and civil litigation. Robbins may be heard on Wednesday nights at 7 p.m. on KZYR radio (97.7 FM) as host of “Community Focus.” Robbins may be reached at 970-926-4461 or at robbins@colorado.net
