Indiana summary judgment: if you did not designate it, it does not exist

Indiana's Trial Rule 56 has a requirement no other state enforces as strictly: designation.

The court decides the motion on the material the parties designate to it, and nothing else. On appeal, a judgment cannot be reversed on a factual dispute unless "the material fact and the evidence relevant thereto shall have been specifically designated to the trial court."

Evidence sitting in the file, unmentioned, does not count. That single rule decides more Indiana summary judgment appeals than the substantive standard does.

Thirty days — and you must move to extend before they run

Ind. Trial Rule 56(C):

An adverse party shall have thirty (30) days after service of the motion to serve a response and any opposing affidavits.

And Rule 56(I):

Alteration of Time. For cause found, the Court may alter any time limit set forth in this rule upon motion made within the applicable time limit.

Read those together. Thirty days is the period, and the court may extend it — but only "upon motion made within the applicable time limit." A request for more time filed on day 31 is not a late request; it is one the rule does not authorise.

Diarise day 25, not day 30.

The designation requirement

Also in Rule 56(C):

At the time of filing the motion or response, a party shall designate to the court all parts of pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, admissions, matters of judicial notice, and any other matters on which it relies for purposes of the motion. A party opposing the motion shall also designate to the court each material issue of fact which that party asserts precludes entry of summary judgment and the evidence relevant thereto.

The opponent's obligation is two-part, and the second half is the one people miss: it is not enough to designate evidence. You must also identify each material issue of fact that the evidence creates.

And the timing is fixed — designation happens "at the time of filing the motion or response", not later.

Why it matters on appeal

Rule 56(H):

Appeal-Reversal. No judgment rendered on the motion shall be reversed on the ground that there is a genuine issue of material fact unless the material fact and the evidence relevant thereto shall have been specifically designated to the trial court.

This is the sharpest sentence in the rule. An appellate court cannot rescue a party who had the evidence but never designated it. Whatever was not put before the trial judge in the required form is unavailable afterwards.

The standard, and what it does not include

Rule 56(C) again:

The judgment sought shall be rendered forthwith if the designated evidentiary matter shows that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.

Note "the designated evidentiary matter" — the standard itself is expressed in terms of what was designated.

And a protection for the party who fails to respond:

Summary judgment shall not be granted as of course because the opposing party fails to offer opposing affidavits or evidence, but the court shall make its determination from the evidentiary matter designated to the court.

Silence does not hand the movant a win. The court still has to be satisfied on the designated material.

That said, Rule 56(E) cuts the other way once the motion is properly supported:

When a motion for summary judgment is made and supported as provided in this rule, an adverse party may not rest upon the mere allegations or denials of his pleading, but his response, by affidavits or as otherwise provided in this rule, must set forth specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial. If he does not so respond, summary judgment, if appropriate, shall be entered against him.

So: no automatic loss, but no defending on the pleadings either.

When each side may move

Rule 56(A) — the claimant:

For claimant. A party seeking to recover upon a claim, counterclaim, or cross-claim or to obtain a declaratory judgment may, at any time after the expiration of twenty [20] days from the commencement of the action or after service of a motion for summary judgment by the adverse party, move with or without supporting affidavits for a summary judgment in his favor upon all or any part thereof.

Rule 56(B) — the defending party, plus something unusual:

For defending party--When motion not required. A party against whom a claim, counterclaim, or cross-claim is asserted or a declaratory judgment is sought may, at any time, move with or without supporting affidavits for a summary judgment in his favor as to all or any part thereof. When any party has moved for summary judgment, the court may grant summary judgment for any other party upon the issues raised by the motion although no motion for summary judgment is filed by such party.

The last sentence is the trap for a movant. The court may grant summary judgment against you on the issues your own motion raised, even though the other side never moved. Filing a summary judgment motion in Indiana puts your own position at risk on those issues.

You can compel a hearing

Rule 56(C):

The court may conduct a hearing on the motion. However, upon motion of any party made no later than ten (10) days after the response was filed or was due, the court shall conduct a hearing on the motion which shall be held not less than ten (10) days after the time for filing the response.

A timely request makes the hearing mandatory. Miss the ten days and it returns to the court's discretion.

Affidavits

Rule 56(E):

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 not previously self-authenticated of all papers or parts thereof referred to in an affidavit shall be attached thereto or served therewith.

Note the qualifier "not previously self-authenticated" — Indiana excuses re-attaching material already self-authenticating in the record.

Rule 56(F) covers the party who cannot yet respond:

When affidavits are unavailable. Should it appear from the affidavits of a party opposing the motion that he cannot for reasons stated present by affidavit facts essential to justify his opposition, the court may refuse the application for judgment or may order a continuance to permit affidavits to be obtained or depositions to be taken or discovery to be had or may make such other order as is just.

The relief is affidavit-triggered. A request for more time unsupported by an affidavit stating the reasons does not engage the rule — and remember Rule 56(I) requires any timing motion to be made inside the period.

Bad faith affidavits are expensive

Rule 56(G):

Affidavits made in bad faith. Should it appear to the satisfaction of the court at any time that any of the affidavits presented pursuant to this rule are presented in bad faith or solely for the purpose of delay, the court shall forthwith order the party employing them to pay to the other party the amount of the reasonable expenses which the filing of the affidavits caused him to incur, including reasonable attorney's fees, and any offending party or attorney may be adjudged guilty of contempt.

The fee award is mandatory — "shall forthwith order" — and contempt is available against the party or the attorney.

Partial judgment, and what happens next

Rule 56(C) makes a partial judgment interlocutory unless the court expressly determines there is no just reason for delay and expressly directs entry. And Rule 56(D) requires the court, where the case is not fully resolved, to specify the facts that appear without substantial controversy:

Upon the trial of the action the facts so specified shall be deemed established, and the trial shall be conducted accordingly.

A denied motion is therefore not wasted — the facts fixed along the way carry into the trial.

Challenging a denial

The end of Rule 56(E): "Denial of summary judgment may be challenged by a motion to correct errors after a final judgment or order is entered."

That routes back into Indiana's distinctive post-judgment vehicle. See the Indiana motion to correct error.

If the case is at an earlier stage, see the Indiana motion to dismiss — a Trial Rule 12(B)(6) motion converts into this rule if outside material is presented and not excluded.

How Indiana compares

A short checklist

1. Diarise 30 days from service — and any extension motion must be filed inside that period.
2. Designate everything you rely on at the time you file, in the form the rule requires.
3. If you oppose, designate each material issue of fact too, not just the evidence.
4. Assume the appellate court will see only what you designated. Rule 56(H) makes that literal.
5. Do not rest on your pleadings. A supported motion requires specific facts in response.
6. Remember the motion can rebound. The court may grant judgment for the non-moving party on the issues you raised.
7. Request a hearing within 10 days of the response deadline if you want one.
8. Attach sworn or certified copies of documents an affidavit refers to, unless already self-authenticated.
9. If you need discovery, file an affidavit stating why — and do it within the period.

Where these rules live

• Ind. Trial Rule 12 — Defenses and objections
• Ind. Trial Rule 56 — Summary judgment
• Ind. Trial Rule 6 — Time

This page explains what the rules say. It isn't legal advice, and what makes a factual issue genuine or material is developed in case law this site doesn't cover.