Commercial Litigation and Arbitration

Federal Judicial Center Summary Judgment Study

Download associated file: FJC Summary Judgment Study.pdf 

In connection with the proposed amendments to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56, the Federal Judicial Center, at the request of the Advisory Committee on the Federal Rules, undertook to study whether the proposed Statement-of-Undisputed-Fact (SUF) procedure embodied in the new rule appears to have any impact on the results of summary judgment motions, based on a comparison of districts with and without such requirements currently (distinguishing further between districts that put such requirements on both movants and respondents, and those that place the requirment just on movants). The study, dated August 18, 2008, found no differences in results regardless of the presence or absence of the SUF procedure. The FJC Summary Judgment Study, which was prepared by two distinguished researchers, Joe Cecil and George Cort, is attached.

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