A lawsuit was filed by Sally Semmler (the Plaintiff) against Discovery Software
Corporation (the Defendant). In her lawsuit, the defendant was being sued for discrimination
against the Defendant founded on sex. The Plaintiff claimed that she had not received a
promotion since working for Discovery Software Corporation because of her sex. During the
investigation, it was found that the Defendant does not discriminate based and sex, that female
employees have received just as many promotions as male employees. Other evidence showed
proof that Semmler’s work ethic is below average due to often being late to the office and
lower than average evaluations. Evidence suggests that Semmler’s claim is inaccurate, so
Discovery files a motion for summary judgment and Semmler opposed the motion. With
reviewing the evidence that was presented at the close of discovery, it can be seen that the
judge should grant Discovery’s motion for summary judgment on the grounds of the allegations
presented by the Plaintiff being not just inaccurate but also false.
When it comes to civil cases, the Defendants or Plaintiffs are able to file a motion for
summary judgment. Summary judgments are governed by Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil
Procedure. According to Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure “…in order to succeed in
a motion for summary judgment, a movant must show 1) that there is no genuine dispute as to
any material fact, and 2) that the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” (Legal
Information Institute, n.d.). The material fact in this matter is the evidence that showed that
female employees have equally received as many promotions as male employees and the work
history of the defendant. The movant, Discovery Software Corporation, can be seen as entitled
to their judgment of law per the inaccuracy and falsehood of the allegations presented by the
Plaintiff. When the Plaintiff filed her lawsuit against the Defendant, she did not provide any
evidence to support her claim of discrimination based on race. At the close of the discovery, the
Defendant was able to provide evidence that proved the allegations from the Plaintiff were not
accurate.
During a summary judgment, there is only so much that a judge is able to review. Rule
56 (c)(3) of the Fed. R. Civ. P. states that “The court need only consider only the cited materials,
but it may consider other materials in the record.” (US Courts, 2023). When filing for a
summary judgment, the Defendant would have presented the claim or defense that they were
seeking summary judgment. In this matter, the Defendant would have presented the claim of
them discrimination based on sex and argued it with the evidence that was presented at the
close of the discovery. The evidence that was presented by the Defendant as a counterclaim to
the claim presented by the Plaintiff, which was the evidence of equal opportunity for
promotion for males and females and the work history of the Plaintiff, showed that the
Plaintiffs claim was not accurate or true.
This evidence would show that there is a claim that would allow for relief to be granted
and the parties would be able to provide any evidence that would support their motion. This is
where the Defendant, Discovery Software Corporation, would present the evidence of female
employees being promoted at the same levels as male employees and the evidence of the
Plaintiff frequently being late to work and having lower than average evaluations. Based on the
facts presented by the Defendant, the judge should grant Discovery Software Corporation’s
motion for summary judgment. A summary judgment does not give the courts the ability to
decide which party would prevail at trial, but rather a summary judgment is “…a court order
ruling that no factual issues remain to be tried and therefore a cause of action or all causes of
action in a complaint can be decided upon certain facts without trial.” (summary judgment,
n.d.). Simply stating, granting the Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment, would allow the
case to be decided without going to trial, which would end up ruling in favor of the Defendant
because of the evidence supporting the falsity of the claim provided by the Plaintiff.
References
Legal Information Institute. (n.d.). summary judgment. Retrieved July 4, 2024, from https://w
ww.law.cornell.edu/wex/summary_judgment
summary judgment. (n.d.). The Peoples Law Dictionary. (1981-20050. Retrieved July 4, 2024,
from https://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/summary+judgment
US Courts. (2023, December 1). Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Retrieved July 4, 2024, from
https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/civil_federal_rules_pamphlet_dec_1_2
023.pdf
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