Rule 56.Summary Judgment

Rule 56.01 lets a party seeking to recover on a claim, counterclaim, or cross-claim — or seeking a declaratory judgment — move for summary judgment at any time after 30 days from when the action began, or sooner if the other side has already moved for summary judgment itself. Rule 56.02 lets a party defending against such a claim move for summary judgment at any time, with no 30-day wait.

Rule 56.03 requires a motion for summary judgment to come with a separate statement of the material facts the movant contends are undisputed, each fact in its own numbered paragraph with a specific citation to the record. The party opposing the motion has to respond to each fact — no later than five days before the hearing — either agreeing it is undisputed, agreeing it is undisputed for purposes of the motion only, or showing that the fact is disputed, again with specific record citations for anything contested. The opposing party can also add its own numbered statement of additional facts it considers material and disputed, and the moving party then gets a chance to respond to those as well.

Rule 56.04 requires the motion to be served at least 30 days before the hearing, with opposing affidavits due at least five days before it. Subject to the movant meeting Rule 56.03’s statement requirement, the court grants judgment if the full record — pleadings, depositions, discovery responses, admissions, and any affidavits — shows no genuine issue of material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. The court has to state the legal grounds for granting or denying the motion in its order. A court can grant summary judgment on liability alone even while a genuine dispute remains over the amount of damages.

Rule 56.05 addresses a case where summary judgment resolves only part of the dispute: the court, after examining the record and questioning counsel, identifies which material facts are uncontested — including how much of the damages or other relief is not in dispute — and enters an order specifying those facts and directing whatever further proceedings the remaining issues require. At trial, the facts the order specifies are treated as already established.

Rule 56.06 requires supporting and opposing affidavits to rest on personal knowledge, state facts that would be admissible in evidence, and show the affiant is competent to testify to what the affidavit says — sworn or certified copies of any documents an affidavit relies on must be attached or served with it. Expert opinion affidavits are governed by the Tennessee Rules of Evidence’s standard for expert testimony. A party facing a properly supported summary judgment motion cannot rest on the bare allegations or denials in its own pleading; its response has to set out specific facts showing a genuine issue for trial, or summary judgment will be entered against it. Rule 56.07 lets a court refuse the motion, or order a continuance for more discovery, when the opposing party shows by affidavit specific reasons it cannot yet present the facts needed to oppose the motion. Rule 56.08 lets the court sanction a party who submits an affidavit in bad faith or purely to cause delay, ordering that party to pay the other side’s reasonable expenses — including attorney’s fees — caused by the affidavit, and exposing the offending party or attorney to contempt.