Summary Judgment

n. final decision made by a judge prior to a verdict that resolves a lawsuit in favor of one of the parties

For the simplification and shortening of a longer text see, Summary. Summary judgment is a legal term which means that a court has made a determination (a judgment) without a full trial. Such a judgment may be issued as to the merits of an entire case, or of specific issues in that case.In Common Law legal systems, issues of law, that is to say, what the law actually is in a particular case are decided by the judge, except when jury nullification of the law acts to contravene or complement the instructions or orders of the judge, or other officers of the court. A factfinder has to decide what the facts are and apply the law. In traditional Common Law the factfinder was a jury, but in many jurisdictions the judge now acts as the factfinder as well. It is the factfinder who decides "what really happened," and it is the judge who applies the law to the facts as determined by the factfinder, whether directly or by giving instructions to the jury. Absent an award of summary judgment (or some other type of pretrial dismissal), a lawsuit will ordinarily proceed to trial, which is an opportunity for each party to present evidence in an attempt to persuade the factfinder that such party is saying "what really happened," and that, under the judge's view of applicable law, such party should prevail. For a case to get to trial, the parties have to take various steps (often known as 'directions'), including disclosing the documents to the opponent by discovery, showing the other side the evidence, often in the form of witness statements and other steps.
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Noun
1. a judgment rendered by the court prior to a verdict because no material issue of fact exists and one party or the other is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law
(synonym) summary judgement, judgment on the pleadings, judgement on the pleadings
(hypernym) judgment, judgement, judicial decision
(classification) law, jurisprudence

A court order dismissing a claim summarily, upon application, and based on the allegation that there is no claim or defence with a reasonable prospect of success. - (read more on Summary Judgment)