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 arbitrators threw out 14% of the cases, ruling in favor of Kaiser’s motion for summary judgment, and dismissed an additional 5% of cases on technical or procedural grounds. — Melody Petersen, Los Angeles Times, 20 July 2026

Those ongoing discussions with the FBI about information sharing are likely to affect Minnesota’s request for summary judgment in the case, Ellison and Moriarty wrote in their motion to the court. — ABC News, 13 July 2026

Whether there are sufficient facts necessary to satisfy the UPEPA standard ― which is essentially the summary judgment standard ― may be a close call where the litigants will not know until the court ultimately rules. — Jay Adkisson, Forbes.com, 10 July 2026

In at least four cases, judges have granted summary judgment in favor of Abbott — ruling for the company before the lawsuits reached trial. — David Hilzenrath, USA Today, 2 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1798, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for summary judgment

• judgement
• misjudgment
• prejudgment

Legal Definition

summary judgment

see also:

judgment sense 1a