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1. Is the appellate court likely to uphold the trial court's ruling?
The employer moved for summary judgment, alleging that the woman was a pathological liar who had filed the action and included fictitious documents in revenge for having been fired. Because the woman's attorney was at a lengthy out-of-state trial when the summary-judgment motion was filed, he failed to respond to it. The court therefore granted the motion in a one-line order and entered final judgment. The woman has appealed.
After being fired, a woman sued her former employer in federal court, alleging that her supervisor had discriminated against her on the basis of her sex. The woman's complaint included a lengthy description of what the supervisor had said and done over the years, quoting his telephone calls and emails to her and her own emails to the supervisor's manager asking for help.
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In deciding a motion for summary judgment, the court will «go behind the pleadings.» Even if it appears from the pleadings that the parties are in dispute on a material fact, the summary judgment motion should be granted if the movant can show that the disputed factual issues presented by the pleadings are illusory. The movant bears the initial burden of production and may use affidavits and discovery materials to establish that there is no factual dispute on the matter for which summary judgment is sought.
B is correct. The standard for summary judgment is whether there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact such that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. By challenging the woman's credibility in its motion, the employer disputed all the facts and evidence she had laid out in her complaint. Therefore, the motion did not meet the standard for summary judgment, and the trial court's ruling should be reversed.
A is incorrect. The fact that the complaint's allegations were detailed and specific does not automatically prevent the court from entering summary judgment. The question is whether, taking into account those allegations, as well as the allegations the employer raised in its summary judgment motion, there remains no genuine dispute of any material fact such that the employer is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. By challenging the woman's credibility in its motion, the employer disputed all the facts and evidence she had laid out in her complaint.
C is incorrect. Although the woman failed to respond, that is not in itself a basis for summary judgment. The court may grant summary judgment only if the employer's motion and supporting materials show that the employer is entitled to that relief. The standard for summary judgment is whether there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact such that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. By challenging the woman's credibility in its motion, the employer disputed all the facts and evidence she had laid out in her complaint.
D is incorrect. The woman's failure to respond does not act as a default by which the court can automatically enter summary judgment. The employer has the burden to show that the summary judgment standard is met — that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact such that it is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Only if the employer satisfies that burden will the burden then shift to the woman to introduce arguments or evidence showing that a genuine dispute of material fact does exist.