Issue: Under federal law, what must a defendant show to establish he or she is entitled to summary judgment?
| Area of Law: | Litigation & Procedure |
| Keywords: | Summary judgment; No genuine issue as to any material fact |
| Jurisdiction: | Federal |
| Cited Cases: | None |
| Cited Statutes: | Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c) |
| Date: | 02/01/2001 |
On a motion for summary judgment, the defendant must show that, on the record as submitted, including the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, admissions and affidavits, there is no genuine issue as to any material fact, and that the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c); See Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323, 106 S. Ct. 2548, 2553, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). All the evidence of plaintiff, the non-moving party, must be regarded as true, and all reasonable inferences must be drawn in his favor. Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c); Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. at 322-23, 106 S. Ct. 2548, 2553, 91 L.Ed.2d 265; Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587, 106 S. Ct. 1348, 1357, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986).
Summary judgment would be proper only if, viewing the facts in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party, the "record taken as a whole could not lead a rational trier of fact to find for the nonmoving party." Matsushita Elec., 475 U.S. at 587, 106 S. Ct. at 1357; Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c).
[…]