MBE Rules · Civil Procedure
Summary judgment
FRCP 56
The rule
Granted if there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Movant may meet burden by showing the absence of evidence on an essential element. Non-movant must then produce admissible evidence creating a genuine dispute — attorney argument is not evidence.
In plain English
Summary judgment is when the court decides a case without a trial because there's no real disagreement about the important facts.
Worked example
In a car accident case, the defendant shows video evidence proving they were not at the scene. The plaintiff has no evidence to counter this, so the court grants summary judgment for the defendant.
Memory hook
Show no fact fight, win the right. No genuine dispute? Judgment for you!
The trap
Students think: A strong argument can defeat summary judgment. Wrong, because argument isn't evidence. The actual test is whether admissible evidence shows a genuine dispute.
How examiners test it
The MBE loves: non-movant offers only attorney argument or irrelevant evidence. Trap: students miss that non-movant needs admissible evidence to show a genuine dispute.
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