Glossary: Summary Judgment

Not every case goes to trial. Trial Rule 12(B) lists a bunch of reasons for getting rid of a case without a trial Trial Rule 56 allows for getting rid of a case by summary judgment.

Summary judgment means that there is no dispute of material fact and the party filing the motion is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law. Notice the rule requires that the material facts be agreed upon and not all facts. Otherwise, the matter goes to trial.

As I tell my clients, anyone can file anything but whether they will get anything for their troubles is a different story. The procedural rules provide ample opportunity for factually baseless lawsuits to end well before trial. That these rules exist for early termination of factually baseless lawsuits is my chief reason for doubting the need for tort or litigation reform. Three reasons come to my mind for why a lawsuit does not terminate before trial (other than settlement): 1) the defendant's counsel does not use the procedural rules properly, 2) the defendant's counsel does not know to use the procedural rules properly, or 3) there is a dispute of facts needing a trial.