A Summary Judgment Motion is a procedural device, during the course of litigation, where an issue (or entire case) can be decided without proceeding to trial.  If a case or issue is decided on summary judgment it will not be permitted to be presented to a judge and/or jury.

In most New York jurisdictions the legal standard on a motion for summary judgment is that the party requesting summary judgment establishes as a matter of law that no triable issue of fact exists. The Court will look at the evidence presented in a light most favorable to the non-moving party.

In personal injury cases frequent uses of a motion for summary judgment is on the issue of “liability.” One example is whether the City of New York  had actual or constructive notice of a defect in the sidewalk which caused a person to trip. In order to prevail on a motion for summary judgment the Plaintiff must establish, as a matter of law, that the City had actual or constructive notice of the defect and failed to correct it.

Another example, is whether a driver of a motor vehicle was negligent when he or she rear-ended another vehicle. In this example the Plaintiff must establish as a matter of law that the driver of vehicle # 1, impacted the rear of vehicle # 2 while it was stopped.

However, in either example if the Court finds that the there is an issue of fact to be decided by a jury, (i.e. “conflicting information”)  summary judgment will not be granted and the issue will proceed to trial.

We at Matthew J. Salimbene, P.C. will discuss all aspects of your case with you including whether to proceed with or how to defend against a motion for summary judgment. Should you wish to discuss any aspect of your case with us, give us a call or fill out one of our client evaluation forms.