Nevada summary judgment: thirty days after discovery closes, and silence makes a fact undisputed
Nevada procedure · Last verified August 17, 2026
Nevada's 2019 restyling brought Rule 56 into line with the modern federal rule, and it carries the two provisions that make that version dangerous for an inattentive respondent.
A fact you fail to address may be treated as undisputed. And the court may grant judgment against the party who moved, or on grounds nobody raised.
Neither requires the other side to ask.
The deadline
Nev. R. Civ. P. 56(b):
Time to File a Motion. Unless a different time is set by local rule or 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.
A single, simple backstop: 30 days after the close of all discovery, subject to local rule or a court order. There is no waiting period at the front — either side may move at any time before that.
Note "all discovery." Where a scheduling order staggers deadlines, it is the last one that starts the thirty days.
The standard
Rule 56(a):
Motion for Summary Judgment or Partial Summary Judgment. 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.
The motion must identify each claim or defense, or part of one. A motion aimed at "the complaint" as a whole does not comply.
And the court "should state on the record the reasons" — which matters if the ruling is appealed.
How a fact must be supported
Rule 56(c)(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.
Two routes, and (B) is the one people forget. You can carry your burden by showing the other side cannot produce admissible evidence to support a fact — you do not always need affirmative evidence of your own.
Stipulations made for purposes of the motion only are expressly usable.
Rule 56(c)(2) allows an objection "that the material cited to support or dispute a fact cannot be presented in a form that would be admissible in evidence" — an objection to the form, not merely to the exhibit.
Rule 56(c)(3) sets the court's reading obligation:
Materials Not Cited. The court need consider only the cited materials, but it may consider other materials in the record.
The court need consider only what you cite. Do not assume a judge will find helpful material you did not point to.
Rule 56(c)(4) requires an affidavit or declaration to 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."
What happens if you do not address a fact
Rule 56(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.
Read (2) and (3) together. A fact you leave unaddressed may be treated as undisputed, and judgment may then follow on the strength of the facts so treated.
The court may instead give you a chance to fix it under (1) — but that is discretionary, not a right.
The practical rule: address every asserted fact, one by one. An opposition that argues the law and ignores the movant's fact statement is the most common way to lose a Nevada summary judgment motion that was winnable.
The court can rule against the movant
Rule 56(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.
Three powers, all conditioned on notice and a reasonable time to respond:
| Power | Effect |
|---|---|
| (1) judgment for a nonmovant | your own motion can lose you the claim |
| (2) grant on grounds not raised | the court is not confined to the briefing |
| (3) on its own initiative | no motion required at all |
Filing a summary judgment motion in Nevada therefore puts the issues you raise in play both ways.
If you need discovery first
Rule 56(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.
The relief requires an affidavit or declaration giving specified reasons. A general complaint that discovery is incomplete does not engage the rule.
Because Nevada allows a motion at any time, this is the answer to one filed early — and note that the court may deny the motion, not merely defer it.
Where this connects
Nevada's Rule 12(b)(5) motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim converts into this rule if outside material is presented and not excluded — and the numbering trips up anyone working from the federal rule. See the Nevada motion to dismiss.
Nevada also requires initial disclosures early, which shapes the record available when a motion arrives. See Nevada initial disclosures.
How Nevada compares
| Nevada | Arizona | Utah | Federal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Filing deadline | 30 days after close of all discovery | dispositive-motion deadline, or 90 days before trial | — | 30 days after close of discovery |
| Separate statement of facts | no | yes, with page limits | — | no |
| Unaddressed fact may be deemed undisputed | yes | — | — | yes |
| Judgment for a nonmovant | yes, on notice | — | — | yes, on notice |
| Judgment on grounds not raised | yes, on notice | — | — | yes, on notice |
| More-discovery relief | affidavit or declaration | titled request + certificate | — | affidavit or declaration |
A short checklist
- Count 30 days from the close of all discovery — the last deadline, not the first.
- Identify each claim or defense the motion targets.
- Cite particular parts of the record. The court need consider only what you cite.
- Consider the (B) route — showing the other side cannot produce admissible evidence.
- Address every fact the other side asserts. Anything you skip may be treated as undisputed.
- Object to form where it matters — whether the material can be presented in admissible form.
- Expect the motion to cut both ways. The court may grant judgment for the nonmovant or on unraised grounds, after notice.
- If discovery is incomplete, file an affidavit or declaration with specified reasons. The court can deny the motion outright.
Where these rules live
- Nev. R. Civ. P. 12 — Defenses and Objections
- Nev. R. Civ. P. 56 — Summary judgment
- Nev. R. Civ. P. 6 — Computing and Extending Time
This page explains what the rules say. It isn't legal advice, and what makes a dispute genuine or a fact material is developed in case law this site doesn't cover.