§56.3 Historical Development

• Jurisdiction: Washington

§56.3 HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT

The summary judgment motion originated in England with an 1855 law allowing an expedited procedure in cases involving liquidated claims on certain commercial instruments. Its use spread into this country, and by the time the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure were adopted in 1938, the procedure was in use in the federal courts and in many states. Washington adopted the procedure in 1955 with Rule of Pleading Practice and Procedure 19. CR 56 was adopted in 1967. The rule has been amended five times through 2001:

(1)CR 56(e), governing the form of affidavits, permitting the submission of supplemental affidavits, and requiring the nonmoving party to present a defense rather than resting on its pleadings, was amended to its present form in 1978.

(2)CR 56(c) was amended in 1985, addinganswers to interrogatories to the list of pleadings or papers that could demonstrate that there was no genuine...