Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56 — and its state-law equivalents — sets the standard for when a court can decide a case without a trial. Understanding exactly what that standard requires is essential before filing or responding to a summary judgment motion.
No genuine dispute of material fact
The core requirement is that there's no genuine dispute over any fact that actually matters to the outcome — not that every fact is agreed upon, just the ones material to the legal claims at issue. Disputes over immaterial facts don't defeat a summary judgment motion.
Entitled to judgment as a matter of law
Even with undisputed material facts, the moving party still has to show the law entitles them to win based on those facts. This is where the legal argument — not just the factual record — carries the motion.
The evidence has to be properly presented
Courts require the factual record to be supported by admissible evidence — affidavits, depositions, documents — properly cited and presented, not just asserted. A motion built on unsupported factual claims gets denied regardless of how strong the legal argument sounds.
Why this standard shapes how the motion gets drafted
A summary judgment motion built around this specific standard — a clear statement of undisputed facts, evidentiary support for each one, and a legal argument tied directly to them — is what gives it a real chance, compared to one that just argues the case generally.