Connecticut summary judgment: whether you need permission depends on the scheduling order
Connecticut procedure · Last verified August 17, 2026
Before you draft anything in Connecticut, answer two questions: is there a scheduling order, and has the case been assigned for trial? Section 17-44 gives three different answers depending on how those come out, and one of them requires you to ask the court's permission first.
Three regimes, and you have to know which you are in
In any action, including administrative appeals which are enumerated in Section 14-7 (c), any party may move for a summary judgment as to any cause of action or defense as a matter of right at any time if no scheduling order exists and the case has not been assigned for trial. If a scheduling order has been entered by the court, either party may move for summary judgment as to any cause of action or defense as a matter of right by the time specified in the scheduling order. If no scheduling order exists but the case has been assigned for trial, a party must move for permission of the judicial authority to file a motion for summary judgment.
| Situation | What you may do |
|---|---|
| No scheduling order, not assigned for trial | move as a matter of right at any time |
| Scheduling order entered | move as a matter of right by the time specified in that order |
| No scheduling order, but assigned for trial | must move for permission of the judicial authority first |
The third row is the trap. An assignment for trial, without any scheduling order having been entered, converts summary judgment from a right into a request. Check the docket for both before you calendar the work.
Section 17-44 also confirms the remedy reaches beyond the complaint: "These rules shall be applicable to counterclaims and cross complaints, so that any party may move for summary judgment upon any counterclaim or cross complaint as if it were an independent action."
And moving does not itself buy time: "The pendency of a motion for summary judgment shall delay trial only at the discretion of the trial judge."
Forty-five days, twice
Section 17-45 sets both clocks, and they are the same length.
What the motion needs — § 17-45(a):
A motion for summary judgment shall be supported by appropriate documents, including but not limited to affidavits, certified transcripts of testimony under oath, disclosures, written admissions and other supporting documents.
The response — § 17-45(b):
Unless otherwise ordered by the judicial authority, any adverse party shall file and serve a response to the motion for summary judgment within forty-five days of the filing of the motion, including opposing affidavits and other available documentary evidence.
And the short calendar — § 17-45(c):
Unless otherwise ordered by the judicial authority, the moving party shall not claim the motion for summary judgment to the short calendar less than forty-five days after the filing of the motion for summary judgment.
Forty-five days is the most generous response period among the states in this family — Vermont allows 30, Maine 21, New Mexico 15. The two 45-day periods are deliberately matched: the movant cannot bring the motion forward for argument before the opposing party's time to respond has run.
Note that the response is measured from filing of the motion, not from service, and that it must include "opposing affidavits and other available documentary evidence" — the evidence comes with the response, not afterwards.
Connecticut requires no separate statement of undisputed material facts. There is no analogue to Wyoming's Rule 56.1 or Nebraska's Annotated Statement; the supporting documents and the memorandum carry the record.
The standard
Section 17-49 states it in one sentence:
The judgment sought shall be rendered forthwith if the pleadings, affidavits and any other proof submitted show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.
"Any other proof submitted" is broader than the enumerated lists other states use, and it matches § 17-45(a)'s open-ended "including but not limited to."
The affidavits
Section 17-46 sets the form:
Supporting and opposing affidavits shall be made on personal knowledge, shall set forth such facts as would be admissible in evidence, and shall show affirmatively that the affiant is competent to testify to the matters stated therein. Sworn or certified copies of all papers or parts thereof referred to in an affidavit shall be attached thereto.
One small difference from the federal-derived rules: Connecticut requires the copies to be "attached thereto," without the alternative of serving them separately that Maine, Rhode Island and South Dakota allow.
If you cannot oppose yet
Section 17-47 is the continuance provision:
Should it appear from the affidavits of a party opposing the motion that such party cannot, for reasons stated, present facts essential to justify opposition, the judicial authority may deny the motion for judgment or may order a continuance to permit affidavits to be obtained or discovery to be had or may make such other order as is just.
As elsewhere, the vehicle is an affidavit giving reasons. With 45 days to respond, Connecticut gives more room than most to assemble the record before resorting to § 17-47 — but the section remains the answer to a motion filed before the discovery you need has been completed.
Bad faith reaches the attorney
Section 17-48 goes further than the equivalent rule in most states:
Should it appear to the satisfaction of the judicial authority at any time that any affidavit is made or presented in bad faith or solely for the purpose of delay, the judicial authority shall forthwith order the offending party to pay to the other party the reasonable expenses which the filing of the affidavit caused that party to incur, including attorney's fees. Any offending party or attorney may be adjudged guilty of contempt, and any offending attorney may also be disciplined by the judicial authority.
Three layers: a mandatory expense award ("shall forthwith order"), contempt for the party or the attorney, and — uniquely among the rules surveyed here — express provision for the attorney to "be disciplined by the judicial authority."
Liability now, damages at a hearing
Section 17-50 does not simply permit an interlocutory judgment on liability; it directs what happens next:
A summary judgment, interlocutory in character, may be rendered on the issue of liability alone, although there is a genuine issue as to damages. In such case the judicial authority shall order an immediate hearing before a judge trial referee, before the court, or before a jury, whichever may be proper, to determine the amount of the damages.
The hearing is not optional once liability is resolved — the judicial authority "shall order" it. If damages are determined by a jury, "the usual procedure for setting aside the verdict shall be applicable," and afterwards "the judicial authority shall forthwith render the appropriate summary judgment."
Judgment on part of a claim
Section 17-51 handles the partial defense:
If it appears that the defense applies to only part of the claim, or that any part is admitted, the moving party may have final judgment forthwith for so much of the claim as the defense does not apply to, or as is admitted, on such terms as may be just; and the action may be severed and proceeded with as respects the remainder of the claim.
Note the direction of this section: it works for the party moving against a partial defense, allowing final judgment on the uncontested portion and severance of the rest — a different mechanism from the "facts deemed established" approach other states use.