This class is a bit different from the others. What you study here are two actual documents that were successful in real cases. Only the names have been changed.
Summary judgment may be entered by a court whenever it can be shown there remain NO “genuine issues of material fact” for the court to decide at trial. Issues of "material fact" as you've already learned are those issues raised by the pleadings.
If there are no genuine issues of material fact remaining in dispute, there is NO reason to waste the court's valuable time allowing the parties to keep fighting.
Summary judgment may be granted for the entire case or for individual counts. If there are NO genuine issues of material fact with regard to all counts in the pleadings, summary judgment puts and end to the entire case. If there are NO genuine issues of material fact with regard to any one or more counts (but some other counts remain in dispute) summary judgment may be granted for those counts that no longer need the court to decide between the parties.
To obtain a summary judgment order, the motion must
You will examine a real motion filed in a real case brought by a golf course development company to shut down an adjoining mom-and-pop pig farm. This motion stopped the golf course developers from putting a small farming family out of business so golfers wouldn't be distracted by the smell of pigs and the music played to make the ham taste sweeter (no kidding).
Remember: Entry of summary judgment is proper if and only if the record contains “NO GENUINE ISSUES OF MATERIAL FACT”
This motion was granted because it showed “as a matter of law” that there remained no genuine issues of material fact on the record for the court to decide.
The second document you’ll examine is a memorandum in opposition to summary judgment brought by a multi-millionaire who wanted to get a secretary dismissed from the case so she could not be drilled with discovery tools that are not available to drill non-parties. This memorandum stopped the multi-millionaire and his millionaire lawyers from having their way! Their motion was denied.
By examining the motion for and the memorandum in opposition, you will learn how to:
Summary judgment can be powerful … for you and against you.
HERE HERE HERE SIDEBAR HERE ...
Be prepared to cite the official rules where you are.
Google “Florida Rules of Evidence” or “California Rules of Civil Procedure” or “Indiana Rules of Criminal Procedure” to get the latest official rules.
Then use my tactics to keep everyone honest … including the judge!
Summary judgment should not be entered if there’s so much as a speck of any "genuine issue of material fact" remaining in dispute. Other issues in dispute do not matter. Only issues raised by the pleadings are "material". (Never forget this!). An opinion of the Florida Supreme Court ruled that if there were so much as a "scintilla" of material fact, summary judgment should be denied. A scintilla is the tiniest glimpse of light the eye can detect.
Appellate courts routinely overturn summary judgments, finding the trial court judge overlooked a genuine issue of material fact that should have been tried. Judges sometimes grant summary judgment motions to "get rid" of cases and clear the calendar, even when genuine material issues remain in dispute. Appellate courts routinely reverse theser and let the parties fight fairly.
The citations to appellate court decisions in both are authentic.
____________/
COME NOW Will B. Pigfarmer and Love A. Pigfarmer, by and through their undersigned attorney, and move this Honorable Court to enter an Order of Summary Judgment in their favor with regard to each count of plaintiff’s complaint and state:
GENERAL SUMMARY JUDGMENT ARGUMENT
GENERAL FACTUAL ALLEGATIONS
ARGUMENT COMMON TO “NUISANCE” COUNTS
STATUTORY AUTHORITY
WHEREFORE the defendants move this Honorable Court to enter an Order granting Final Summary Judgment in their favor and granting such other and further relief as this Honorable Court may deem reasonable and just under the circumstances.
I CERTIFY that a copy of the foregoing and the attached affidavits were provided by regular U.S. Mail to Gourmet Golf Club’s lawyers Dick and Bob, addressed to them at Dewey, Fleesum, & Howe; 123 Bigshot Avenue; Smalltown; Florida this 31st day of February 2002.
Winning requires research, writing, editing, etc. However none of this is rocket science. It’s just common-sense and easy to learn!
The following memorandum in opposition to summary judgment is also verified.
This is necessary both when seeking and when opposing summary judgment.
Additionally, there may be deadlines for supporting affidavits to be filed. Consult your local official rules for details. Official rules can be access through the “Extras” menu.
In the case that brought me to draft the following memorandum on behalf of the plaintiff, a codefendant Gail Goesalong filed a motion for summary judgment to be released from the lawsuit on various grounds.
This verified memorandum defeated her motion for summary judgment.
By studying this closely you will learn how to oppose a summary judgment motion filed against you.
You can use the same reasoning (citing controlling case law from your own jurisdiction, of course) to defeat summary judgment proceedings against you … if there exist genuine issues of material fact to preclude entry of summary judgment.
____________/
PLAINTIFF Duz Rite Corporation, by and through its undersigned attorney, files this verified memorandum in opposition to defendant Goesalong’s motion for summary judgment, stating:
WHEREFORE plaintiff moves this Honorable Court to enter an Order denying Goesalong’s Motion for Summary Judgment and to grant such other and further relief as the Court may deem reasonable and just under the circumstances.
_________________________________
Frederick David Graves, Attorney-at-Law
123 Main Street
Happiness, FL 33333
555-555-5555
STATE OF _________________
COUNTY OF ___________________
BEFORE ME personally appeared I.M. Good who, being by me first duly sworn and identified in accordance with Florida law, deposes under penalties of perjury and says:
1. My name is I.M. Good, sole director of the plaintiff corporation, duly authorized to speak and act on its behalf in regard to all matters pertaining to this lawsuit.
2. I have read the allegations of fact contained in the foregoing memorandum, and each is true and correct.
3. This affidavit is given under penalties of perjury.
FURTHER THE AFFIANT SAYETH NAUGHT.
________________________________
I.M. Good
___________________
SWORN TO and subscribed before me this 12 day of November 2012.
Notary Public
Again, lots of work … but it’s all common sense.
Do not be afraid it is too complicated.
It may seem complicated at first, however once you go over these two examples a few times you will begin to see the simplicity of it all … and no one will ever again be able to kick litigation sand in your face!
If you are filing a Motion for Summary Judgment, some jurisdictions require you to warn the opposing party with the following language at the bottom of your motion:
If you are responding to a Motion for Summary Judgment that does not include this or similar warning, please do what this warning requires anyway!
Also, your motions (and your opponents) should be "verified", i.e., sworn to before a Notary Public as true with regard to all facts alleged, and the certificate attached at the end of the motions.
Whether you’re filing a motion for summary judgment or opposing one filed against you, study both arguments presented in this lesson until you clearly see their reasoning and rationale.
A successful motion for summary judgment can end the battle, whether it’s a case in foreclosure, credit card debt, collection, family law, fraud, slander, or something else.
When filing motions and memoranda that cite case law, attach printed copies of the entire cases cited, so the court can quickly review the cases without having to go to the trouble to look them up. And, there are no rules against highlighting parts of those printed cases, provided everything you file also gets provided to your opponent. Good litigators do not win by ambush!
Provide complete cases, not partial excerpts. The court wants the entire appellate court opinion, not just the part you want them to see.
Summary judgment can win parts of cases or entire cases without trial.
If you do your pleadings, motions, and discovery the way this course teaches, you should be able to win without going to the expense and risk of trial … if you have a winnable case!
The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of a copyrighted work is illegal.
Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by fines and federal imprisonment. No portion of this course may be published, duplicated, shared, or used by anyone other than the current subscribers.
© 1997-2025 by Dr. Frederick Graves
d/b/a Jurisdictionary®
All Rights Reserved
866-LAW-EASY ( 866-529-3279 )
19420 Heritage Harbor Parkway
Lutz, Florida 33558
lawbook@jurisdictionary.com