what is the best defense against summary judgement concerning "triable issues of material fact" in california?

Question

I am defending myself against a summary judgement in california. I think what i have to defend myself against is the issue of "triable issues of material fact". What is recent case law regarding this. How can i show that there are triable issues, ie where the court has found against summary judgement. I am in Marin County superior court

Answer 1

In common civil procedure parlance, a "triable issue of material fact" means that some factual issue is in dispute, and how that factual issue is resolved will have an effect on the outcome of the case.

For example, let's make up a hypothetical. I alleged: "1. You hit me while driving your car. 2. As a result of being hit, my arm got broken. 3. At the time, you were speeding 10 miles above the limit and ran a red light. 4. Your car is blue. "

You answer that yes you hit me and broke my arm, and yes the light was red, but you were only going 5 miles above the speed limits, and your car is really turquoise.

I move for summary judgment. Are there any questions of fact in dispute? Yes. You said +5 mph above the limit, I say +10. And we disagree with the color of your car.

Are any of these 'material' issues? No. Because none of them affect the outcome of the case. What are the elements I am required to prove? That you hit me and caused damage, and that you were in violation of traffic laws at the time (See Negligence per Se). My motion for summary judgment would be granted because none of the questions left unresolved (or in dispute) matter to the outcome.

But let's say that you said "No, I didn't hit you. Somebody else did. I don't own a blue car. And I have no idea if/how you were injured." Now we have different questions of fact in dispute. What car hit me. Who was driving. These are material questions of fact, and must be resolved at trial. So my motion for summary judgment would be denied.

Summary judgment is a way to resolve matters without going to trial, when going to trial would not change the outcome. So, really, you must be defending yourself against some actual claim, and the opposing party filed a motion for summary judgment based on the evidence so far provided to the court.

I'll second (or third) the advice above. Get a lawyer. Civil procedure can be a nasty technical battle, and requires understanding of lots of specific rules and terms.

Answer 2

I'm assuming from what you've described is that summary judgment was already granted for the other side. You probably only have a few days or weeks to appeal. If you're not an attorney, you REALLY should get one. What the judge has said is that, as a matter of law, there are no issues that are triable. Basically, the judge is saying that there is no cause of action.
If you are intent on going it alone, you should look for a fact scenario that is similar to yours that was successfully sued on. Honestly though... you need a California Attorney for this. The attorney will probably tell you within a few minutes if you really have a case or not.

Good luck.

Answer 3

Type lawyerdude into your search engine, he's in california. He has numerous pages for defenses against this type of judgement.

Answer 4

well that user is discriminating and generalizing all americans and is no better.. I wouldnt claim that the 20 or so users here in yahoo forum represents all americans.. there are billions of americans who do not discriminate and are intelligent enough to not blaim a whole group on actions of a few..

Answer 5

I had one too but the wheels fell off.