(a) MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT OR PARTIAL SUMMARY JUDGMENT.
(1) In General. A party may move for summary judgment, identifying each claim or defense—or the part of each claim or defense—on which summary judgment is sought. The court shall grant summary judgment if the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. The court should state on the record the reasons for granting or denying the motion.
(2) Consumer Debt Collection Actions. In an action initiated by a debt collector to collect a consumer debt as defined in D.C. Code § 28-3814, the plaintiff must provide all documentation and information required by D.C. Code § 28-3814 prior to entry of summary judgment.
(b) TIME TO FILE A MOTION; FORMAT.
(1) Time to File. Unless the court orders otherwise, a party may file a motion for summary judgment at any time until 30 days after the close of all discovery.
(2) Format: Parties’ Statements of Fact.
(A) Movant’s Statement. The movant must file a statement of the material facts that the movant contends are not genuinely disputed. Each material fact must be stated in a separate numbered paragraph.
(B) Opponent’s Statement. A party opposing the motion must file a statement of the material facts that the opponent contends are genuinely disputed. The disputed material facts must be stated in separate numbered paragraphs that correspond to the extent possible with the numbering of the paragraphs in the movant’s statement.
(1) Supporting Factual Positions. A party asserting that a fact cannot be or is genuinely disputed must support the assertion by:
(A) citing to particular parts of materials in the record, including depositions, documents, electronically stored information, affidavits or declarations, stipulations (including those made for purposes of the motion only), admissions, interrogatory answers, or other materials; or
(B) showing that the materials cited do not establish the absence or presence of a genuine dispute, or that an adverse party cannot produce admissible evidence to support the fact.
(2) Objection That a Fact Is Not Supported by Admissible Evidence. A party may object that the material cited to support or dispute a fact cannot be presented in a form that would be admissible in evidence.
(3) Materials Not Cited. The court need consider only the cited materials, but it may consider other materials in the record.
(4) Affidavits or Declarations. An affidavit or declaration used to support or oppose a motion must be made on personal knowledge, set out facts that would be admissible in evidence, and show that the affiant or declarant is competent to testify on the matters stated.
(d) WHEN FACTS ARE UNAVAILABLE TO THE NONMOVANT. If a nonmovant shows by affidavit or declaration that, for specified reasons, it cannot present facts essential to justify its opposition, the court may:
(1) defer considering the motion or deny it;
(2) allow time to obtain affidavits or declarations or to take discovery; or
(3) issue any other appropriate order.
(e) FAILING TO PROPERLY SUPPORT OR ADDRESS A FACT. If a party fails to properly support an assertion of fact or fails to properly address another party's assertion of fact as required by Rule 56(c), the court may:
(1) give an opportunity to properly support or address the fact;
(2) consider the fact undisputed for purposes of the motion;
(3) grant summary judgment if the motion and supporting materials—including the facts considered undisputed—show that the movant is entitled to it; or
(4) issue any other appropriate order.
(f) JUDGMENT INDEPENDENT OF THE MOTION. After giving notice and a reasonable time to respond, the court may:
(1) grant summary judgment for a nonmovant;
(2) grant the motion on grounds not raised by a party; or
(3) consider summary judgment on its own after identifying for the parties material facts that may not be genuinely in dispute.
(g) FAILING TO GRANT ALL THE REQUESTED RELIEF. If the court does not grant all the relief requested by the motion, it may enter an order stating any material fact— including an item of damages or other relief—that is not genuinely in dispute and treating the fact as established in the case.
(h) AFFIDAVIT OR DECLARATION SUBMITTED IN BAD FAITH. If satisfied that an affidavit or declaration under this rule is submitted in bad faith or solely for delay, the court—after notice and a reasonable time to respond—may order the submitting party to pay the other party the reasonable expenses, including attorney's fees, it incurred as a result. An offending party or attorney may also be held in contempt or subjected to other appropriate sanctions.
Rule 56(a) states the summary judgment standard plainly: a party may move for judgment on an entire claim or defense, or part of one, and the court must grant it if there is no genuine dispute of material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law, stating its reasons for the ruling on the record. A separate provision addresses consumer debt collection actions — before summary judgment can be entered for a debt collector suing to collect a consumer debt, the plaintiff must have provided all the documentation and information required by D.C. Code § 28-3814.
Rule 56(b) governs timing and format. Unless the court orders otherwise, a motion for summary judgment may be filed any time up to 30 days after the close of all discovery. Both sides must also file statements of fact in a specific format: the movant states, in separate numbered paragraphs, the material facts it contends are not genuinely disputed, and the opposing party responds with its own numbered paragraphs identifying the facts it contends are genuinely disputed, matched where possible to the movant's numbering.
Rules 56(c) through (e) fill in the mechanics. A party asserting a fact is undisputed (or disputed) must point to specific record materials or show that the cited materials fail to settle the point or that the other side lacks admissible evidence to support it; the opposing side can object that cited material could not be presented in an admissible form, and supporting affidavits or declarations must rest on personal knowledge and admissible facts from a competent affiant. If a party fails to properly support or address a fact, the court can give it another chance, treat the fact as undisputed, grant judgment on that basis, or issue another appropriate order. If the nonmovant shows it lacks facts needed to oppose the motion, the court can defer or deny the motion, allow more time for discovery, or fashion another order.
The remaining subsections give the court independent authority to grant summary judgment for a nonmovant, rule on grounds no party raised, or flag potentially undisputed facts on its own after notice — and, where it does not grant all the relief requested, to enter an order treating specific undisputed facts, including items of damages, as established for the rest of the case. Rule 56(h) backs all of this with a sanction: an affidavit or declaration filed in bad faith or purely to cause delay can lead to an order requiring payment of the other side's reasonable expenses and attorney's fees, contempt, or other sanctions.