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

On March 19—just nine days before the university moved for summary judgment in the Sportico reporter’s case—the Illinois attorney general’s office issued an administrative ruling in a separate FOIA dispute. —Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 7 May 2025

Fox News filed a motion for summary judgment Tuesday, attacking voting machine company Smartmatic’s demand for $2.7 billion in damages in its defamation suit against the conservative-leaning news channel. —Stephen Battaglio, Los Angeles Times, 30 Apr. 2025

New York Judge Sabrina Kraus will weigh the competing arguments on the motion for summary judgment and issue a ruling, most likely this summer. —Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 22 Apr. 2025

If this were a civil case, the parties would likely file motions for summary judgment, and the judge would be able to offer an explanation of how the law applies to the evidence adduced at trial. —Andrea Tinianow, Forbes.com, 10 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1798, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for summary judgment

• judgement
• misjudgment
• prejudgment

Legal Definition

summary judgment

see judgment sense 1a