§56.7 Strategic and Practical Considerations

• Jurisdiction: Washington

§56.7 STRATEGIC AND PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS

Strategic and practical consideration related to CR 56 are discussed below.

(1)Incidental advantages of summary judgment motion

Amotion for summary judgment can serve as a discovery device. If the motion is properly supported, it may force the opposing party to divulge facts of which the movant was unaware.

A motion for summary judgment will compel the attorneys on both sides to make a thorough evaluation of the evidence and applicable law. This enhances timely and well-focused case preparation.

The motion may promote settlement discussions and facilitate settlement.

In counties that preassign cases to particular judges, the summary judgment process educates the trial judge about the case.

Even though summary judgment may not be granted on all issues, a summary adjudication on liability, or on particular claims or issues, will simplify and shorten the trial.

(2)Drawbacks of summary judgment motion

Motions for summary judgment are time consuming and expensive to prepare and argue. The motion may result in the disclosure of evidence that might otherwise have gone undiscovered until trial.

A motion for summary judgment educates the other side about the law and provides an opportunity for the other side to bolster weakness before trial. The adverse party will likely be better prepared for trial if the motion is unsuccessful.

If a motion for summary judgment is granted and the summary judgment is then appealed and reversed, final resolution of the case will take much longer and may be much more expensive than if the case had been allowed to simply proceed to trial.

(3)Other considerations in bringing the motion

It is important to know the general attitude of the judge toward summary judgment. Some judges are more inclined to grant summary judgment than others. In some tort cases, it might be desirable for a plaintiff to try liability as well as damages to a jury rather than seeking summary judgment on liability. By obtaining summary judgment on liability, the plaintiff might be foreclosed from showing the degree of defendant's misconduct and culpability. See Amend v. Bell,89 Wn.2d 124, 131, 570 P.2d 138 (1977).

(4)Practical aspects of the summary judgment procedure

Practical aspects of summary judgment are discussed below.

(a)Timing

Summary judgment motions are best deferred until discovery is complete, for several reasons: (1) discovery is normally necessary to determine the existence of material issues of fact; (2) admissions, interrogatory answers, and other discovery can strengthen the moving party's case; and (3) the court will likely view the motion as premature if the nonmovant has not completed discovery that is reasonably calculated to develop material fact issues. On the other hand, sometimes it may be advisable to bring the...