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

The remainder of the counts went forward, resulting in the bench decision on Comcast’s motion for summary judgment. —Robert Goulder, Forbes, 15 Sep. 2024

Judge Robert Pitman denied the defendants’ pretrial motion for a summary judgment in their favor, ruling last month that the KKK Act prohibits the physical intimidation of people traveling to political rallies, even when racial bias isn’t a factor. —Nadia Lathan, Los Angeles Times, 9 Sep. 2024

The issue will be decided at summary judgment, the court said. —Winston Cho, The Hollywood Reporter, 15 Aug. 2024

In that motion asking for summary judgment in his favor, Carter claimed that Ruth’s allegations simply weren’t possible. —Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 14 Aug. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1798, in the meaning defined above

Legal Definition

summary judgment

see judgment sense 1a