Summary dismissal is a way to dismiss a lawsuit without trial. The judge issues it when there are no major issues to resolve. Either party can request it, and evidence can be used to support the motion. The goal is to avoid unnecessary litigation. The judge weighs the relevant facts and the party seeking summary judgment must prove the other party will not have sufficient evidence at trial.
A summary dismissal is a means by which a party can dismiss a lawsuit without proceeding to trial. Typically, a court may issue a summary dismissal when the material fact is not in dispute or is a real issue, or if the adoption of a judgment for one party is determined by insufficient evidence presented by the other party. The judge does not seek to determine which side would prevail at trial, but simply establishes that there are no major issues central to the case for the judge or jury to resolve. In some jurisdictions, the law may refer to summary dismissal as a summary judgment.
Either of the parties can ask the judge for such a decision, or the judge can issue such a decision on his own initiative. It is common for both parties to a case to request the summary dismissal of the case. A summary judgment may concern an entire case or only parts of the case, and thus may result in the entire case being dismissed completely or simplify the remaining disputed matters for trial, which may make the trial shorter and less complex. The goal of this process is to avoid unnecessary litigation.
When seeking summary dismissal, a party may support its motion with affidavits, witness depositions, or any other admissible evidence permitted by a jurisdiction’s rules of evidence. The judge may decide to propose a summary judgment by listening to the oral defenses of the parties or on the written pleadings and the evidence contained in the parties’ applications. The burden of proof rests on the filing party and must demonstrate that the court should grant him a summary judgment based on insufficient evidence. This even if the burden of proof is not applicable in court to the party requesting summary dismissal.
In considering a summary dismissal, the judge weighs the relevant facts in favor of the party not moving. The party seeking summary judgment must prove to the judge that, once the case goes to trial, the other party will not have sufficient evidence to bear its burden of proof. This allows the judge to decide the case summarily based on certain facts highlighted by the party seeking summary judgment. The exact requirements for opposing a motion for summary dismissal differ between jurisdictions.
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