Kentucky summary judgment: ten days' notice, and opposing affidavits up to the day before
Kentucky procedure · Last verified August 17, 2026
Kentucky's summary judgment rule is short — five operative sections and no page limits, no separate statement of facts, and no numbered-paragraph regime. What it has instead is a hearing-based clock and an unusually late deadline for the party opposing.
Ten days out, and affidavits up to the day before
Ky. CR 56.03:
The motion shall be served at least 10 days before the time fixed for the hearing. The adverse party prior to the day of hearing may serve opposing affidavits. The judgment sought shall be rendered forthwith if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, stipulations, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show 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. A summary judgment, interlocutory in character, may be rendered on the issue of liability alone although there is a genuine issue as to the amount of damages.
| Paper | Deadline |
|---|---|
| The motion | at least 10 days before the time fixed for the hearing |
| Opposing affidavits | prior to the day of hearing |
The opposing deadline is later than in most states — affidavits may be served right up to the day before the hearing. That is useful when evidence arrives late, but it is not an invitation to wait: a judge reading the file the night before has not read what lands that morning.
Note also what the standard draws on. Kentucky's list includes stipulations, which several states' versions omit: "the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, stipulations, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any."
And liability may be decided alone, interlocutorily, even where damages remain in dispute.
Who may move, and when
CR 56.01 — the 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 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.
CR 56.02 — the defending party:
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.
| Party | May move |
|---|---|
| Claimant | after 20 days from commencement, or once the other side moves for summary judgment |
| Defending party | at any time |
Twenty days matches Kentucky's answer period, so a claimant can move as soon as the answer is due.
Both sections say the motion may be made "with or without supporting affidavits" — affidavits are not a precondition to moving.
What an affidavit must contain
CR 56.05:
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 or served therewith. The court may permit affidavits to be supplemented or opposed by depositions or by further affidavits.
Four requirements:
- personal knowledge
- facts that would be admissible in evidence
- an affirmative showing the affiant is competent to testify
- sworn or certified copies of any paper the affidavit refers to, attached or served with it
That last one is the most commonly missed. Referring to a contract or a business record obliges you to put a sworn or certified copy in front of the court.
If you cannot yet answer the motion
CR 56.06:
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: it must "appear from the affidavits of a party opposing the motion" that the facts cannot be presented, and the reasons must be stated. A request made only in a brief does not engage the rule.
The court has three options — refuse the application outright, order a continuance for affidavits, depositions or discovery, or make any other just order.
Because Kentucky's answer period is only twenty days and a claimant may move immediately afterwards, CR 56.06 is often the right response to an early motion in a case where no discovery has happened.
The connection to a motion to dismiss
A CR 12.02 motion asserting failure to state a claim converts into this rule if outside material is presented and not excluded, and so does a CR 12.03 motion for judgment on the pleadings. A defendant who attaches documents to a motion to dismiss is therefore opting into CR 56.03's ten-day service requirement and CR 56.05's affidavit rules, often without meaning to.
See the Kentucky motion to dismiss.
If judgment goes against you
Kentucky's two post-judgment routes run on very different clocks:
| What you want | Rule | Deadline |
|---|---|---|
| The trial court to alter, amend or vacate its own judgment | CR 59.05 | 10 days |
| Relief from a final judgment on enumerated grounds | CR 60.02 | reasonable time; 1 year for some grounds |
See the Kentucky motion to alter, amend or vacate and vacating a Kentucky judgment.
How Kentucky compares
| Kentucky | Alabama | Indiana | Federal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clock runs from | the hearing date | the hearing date | service | service |
| Motion served before the hearing | 10 days | 10 days | — | — |
| Opposition due | prior to the day of hearing | 2 days before | 30 days after service | set by local rule |
| Separate statement of facts | no | narrative summary | designation required | no |
| Claimant may move after | 20 days | 30 days | 20 days | at any time |
| More-discovery relief | affidavit-triggered | affidavit-triggered | affidavit-triggered | affidavit or declaration |
A short checklist
- Find the hearing date. Both deadlines run backwards from it.
- Serve the motion at least ten days out.
- If you are opposing, you have until the day before the hearing to serve affidavits — but file earlier if you want them read.
- Attach sworn or certified copies of every paper an affidavit refers to.
- Check that each affidavit shows personal knowledge, admissible facts, and competence to testify.
- If the motion came before discovery, file a CR 56.06 affidavit stating why you cannot present the facts. The court can refuse the motion outright.
- Remember stipulations count — Kentucky's standard expressly includes them.
- Consider moving on liability alone where damages are genuinely disputed.
Where these rules live
- Ky. CR 12.02 — How presented
- Ky. CR 56.01 — For claimant
- Ky. CR 56.02 — For defending party
- Ky. CR 56.03 — Motion and proceedings thereon
- Ky. CR 56.05 — Forms of affidavits; Further testimony
- Ky. CR 56.06 — When affidavits are unavailable
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.