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Judge vs. Jury
Cheryl Sizemore
School of Law, Liberty University
GOVT407 - Undergraduate Civil Procedure
Professor Vorberger
October 9, 2023
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Judge vs. Jury
Issue
Sally Semmler, (“Semmler”), filed a lawsuit against her employer, Discovery Software
Corporation, (“Discovery”), alleging that the company discriminated against her because of her
sex. Specifically, she alleges that she has not received a promotion because of her sex. After the
close of discovery, the evidence shows (1) that females have been promoted at the same levels as
males in the company and (2) that Semmler is often late to the office and has lower-than-average
evaluations.
Discovery files a motion for summary judgment and Semmler opposes the motion.
Should the judge grant the motion under Rule 56(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure?
Rule
Rule 56(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provides for a Motion for Summary
Judgment or Partial Summary Judgment.
“A party may move for summary judgment, identifying each claim or defense – or
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.”
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;
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(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.
Rule 56(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure also provides that summary judgment
"shall be rendered forthwith if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and
admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to
any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law."
Analysis
“Summary judgment means entry of judgment by the court in favor of either the plaintiff
or the defendant without trial.” (Glannon, p. 475, 2018)
“The motion for summary judgment under Fed. R. Civ. P. 56 is “designed to allow early
resolution of cases in which the plaintiff meets the minimal burden to plead the elements of a
compensable claim but cannot prove one or more of those elements.” (Id.)
In this matter, Defendant Discovery would need to assert that Plaintiff Semmler's
allegation that she was discriminated against based upon her sex and has not received a
promotion because of her sex based upon the materials in the record cited does not establish a
presence of a genuine dispute. Discovery would also object that the material cited to support
Semmler’s claims cannot be presented in a form that would be admissible in evidence. Discovery
should prepare affidavits from the appropriate principal individuals concerned with Semmler’s
employment status, that state unequivocally that she was not promoted due to her chronic
lateness and lower-than-average evaluations, and not because of her sex. Therefore, the court
should award Summary Judgment for the Defendant Discovery on these bases.
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“Such resolution of the case (or a part of it) by the judge is appropriate only if the
evidence before the court demonstrates that there is no disputed issue of material fact to be tried
and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a).” (Id).
Conclusion
If Semmler cannot produce specific evidence to properly support the fact that she was not
promoted based upon her sex, as she claims in her suit, then the court must properly grant
Summary Judgment to Defendant Discovery on the basis that the plaintiff has failed to properly
support an assertion of fact, and there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact as required by
Rule 56(a).
