summary judgment

noun

: judgment that may be granted upon a party's motion when the pleadings, discovery, and any affidavits show that there is no issue of material fact and that the party is entitled to judgment in its favor as a matter of law

Examples of summary judgment in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

All three women sued the hospital and Hechavarria, and in January 2022, the judge hearing Love’s lawsuit denied the hospital’s motion for summary judgment. —Gretchen Morgenson, NBC News, 18 Nov. 2024

Nguyen noted in the opinion that the panel viewed the facts in a light most favorable to the plaintiff, which is required at the summary judgment stage when a case is being evaluated for its trial worthiness. —Robert Salonga, The Mercury News, 6 Sep. 2024

If the lawsuit survives the summary judgment stage, the city could win an enormous amount at trial. —Madeleine O'Neill, Baltimore Sun, 2 Aug. 2024

Quigley essentially says that since Dartmouth has openly refused to bargain with the union and since applicable precedent requires management to bargain with a union, the board should easily grant summary judgment. —Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 3 Sep. 2019

Word History

First Known Use

1798, in the meaning defined above

Legal Definition

summary judgment

see judgment sense 1a