Summary Judgment Procedures

Because there is no evidence taken at hearings on Motions for Summary Judgment, most will be ruled upon without the necessity of a hearing. A date and time will be set for submission and the court will rule upon the Motion, any objections to affidavits and any Reply filed. Moving and non-Moving parties are encouraged to submit a proposed Order on the Motion and, if applicable, any Order on objections.

There is no need to appear for a Motion Summary Judgment unless:

One of the parties wishes to be heard in an effort to assist the court in understanding their briefed arguments;
Both parties wish to argue the law as it applies to the undisputed facts in the Motion; or
The Court requests a hearing.

Generally, a party submitting a Motion for Summary Judgment and a request for hearing will receive a Notice of the Hearing to forward to opposing counsel or the pro se respondent. If the Movant has not requested an oral hearing, the non-moving party may do so not later than seven days before the date of submission of the Motion. If a non-movant requests a hearing and the moving party does not wish to be heard please advise the coordinator before the hearing.

If proposed Orders on the Motion have been submitted, the Court will render its decision and sign the appropriate Order. If no Orders are prepared, the prevailing party will be contacted by the court coordinator and asked to prepare an Order reflecting the ruling of the Court and obtain the signature of opposing counsel or the pro se opponent (who may agree to the Order or may agree to the Order as to form only).