4.8 Motions for Summary Judgment

• Library: Federal Civil Practice in Virginia (Virginia CLE) (2023 Ed.)

4.8 MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT ¹²⁴⁶

4.801 Authorization Under Fed. R. Civ. P. 56.

Fed. R. Civ. P. 56 can be used to resolve all issues in a case or any part of the claims, counterclaims, and cross-claims in order to shape the issues to which the parties' trial evidence will be directed.

Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a) authorizes a motion for summary judgment or partial summary judgment to permit the claimant or the defending party to summarily terminate all or part of a claim, defense, or entire lawsuit.

Where the court grants only partial relief, Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(g) permits the court to enter an order stating any material facts, including damages or other relief, that do not remain in dispute and will be treated as established for purposes of trial.

4.802 Standard Applied to Motion.

The standard for summary judgment is stated in Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a): "The court shall grant summary judgment if the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and that the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law."

Whereas a Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b) motion to dismiss tests the sufficiency of the pleadings, the Fed. R. Civ. P. 56 motion for summary judgment tests the availability of facts adduced during discovery to support the claim.

Summary judgment may be entered for any party to a cause of action. ¹²⁴⁷ For a defendant, summary judgment is appropriate when, after discovery, a party has failed to make a "showing sufficient to establish the existence of an element essential to that party's case, and on which that party will bear the burden of proof at trial." ¹²⁴⁸

Once a motion for summary judgment is properly made and supported, the opposing party has the burden of showing the existence of a genuine dispute of a material fact. ¹²⁴⁹ The nonmoving party must respond by affidavits or otherwise and present specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue of disputed fact for trial. ¹²⁵⁰

A fact is material where its existence or nonexistence could lead a jury to different outcomes; a genuine dispute exists when there is sufficient evidence on which a reasonable jury could return a verdict in favor of the nonmoving party. ¹²⁵¹

The facts themselves, and the inferences to be drawn from those facts, must be viewed in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. ¹²⁵² This means that, in reviewing the evidence presented, the court may not weigh the evidence or make determinations of credibility. ¹²⁵³ However, when a video "quite clearly contradicts the version of the story told by [the plaintiff] . . . so that no reasonable jury could believe it, a court should not adopt that version of the facts for purposes of ruling on a motion for summary judgment." ¹²⁵⁴

"Although the court must draw all justifiable inferences in favor of the nonmoving party, the nonmoving party must rely on more than conclusory allegations, mere speculation, the building of one inference upon another, or the mere existence of a scintilla of evidence." ¹²⁵⁵

Thus, to defeat a motion for summary judgment, the nonmoving party must "come forward with specific facts," rather than just "metaphysical doubt[s]," that establish that there is a genuine dispute for trial. ¹²⁵⁶ Mere speculation by the nonmoving party cannot create a genuine issue of material fact by building one inference upon another. ¹²⁵⁷

The evidence presented by the nonmoving party must be sufficient to return a verdict at trial. ¹²⁵⁸ When "the record taken as a whole could not lead a rational trier of fact to find for the nonmoving party, there is no genuine issue for trial." ¹²⁵⁹

When deciding cross-motions for summary judgment, the district court will consider each motion independently and on its own merits, viewing all facts and inferences in the light most favorable to the party opposing each motion. ¹²⁶⁰

A movant seeking summary judgment based on an affirmative defense "must conclusively establish all essential elements of that defense." ¹²⁶¹ If the defendant satisfies this burden, the plaintiff must then "come forward with specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial." ¹²⁶²

4.803 Procedural Requirements.

Unless a different time is set by local rule or court order, a party may move for summary judgment at any time until 30 days after the close of all discovery. ¹²⁶³

In the Eastern District of Virginia, the timing provisions of Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(b) do not apply. Rather, that court will not consider any motion for summary judgment "unless it is filed and set for hearing or submitted on briefs within a reasonable time before the date of trial, thus permitting a reasonable time for the Court to hear arguments and consider the merits after completion of the briefing schedule specified in Local Civil Rule 7(F)(1)." ¹²⁶⁴

Similarly, the Western District will not consider any motion for summary judgment or other dispositive motion,

[e]xcept for good cause shown, . . . unless it is filed and set for hearing, or submitted without hearing, within the time fixed by the court, or if no time is fixed by the court, within a reasonable time before the date of trial, thus permitting adequate time for the court to consider the motion. ¹²⁶⁵

A. Eastern District Briefing Requirements.

Under E.D. Va. Civ. R. 56(B), a brief in support of a motion for summary judgment must include a specifically captioned section listing all material facts as to which the moving party contends there is no genuine issue and cite parts of...