Rule 56.Summary Judgment

Rule 15-6-56 is South Dakota’s motion for summary judgment. A claimant can move for judgment in its favor thirty days after the action starts, or sooner if the other side already moved for summary judgment first; a party defending against a claim can move at any time. Either side can support the motion with affidavits or file it without them.

The briefing schedule is specific. Unless the court sets different deadlines, the motion, supporting brief, statement of undisputed material facts, and any affidavits have to be served at least twenty-eight calendar days before the hearing; a response, including a response to the movant’s fact statement, is due at least fourteen calendar days before the hearing; and a reply is due at least seven calendar days before it. Each side has to file its own separate, numbered statement of facts — the movant lists the facts it says are undisputed, and the opposing party responds point by point and adds any facts it contends are in genuine dispute, each with citations to the record. Facts in the movant’s statement are taken as admitted unless the opposing statement controverts them. Judgment is entered if there is no genuine issue of material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law — and the court can grant judgment on liability alone even while the amount of damages remains contested.

Not every motion ends the case outright. When judgment is not entered on the whole case, Rule 15-6-56(d) lets the court sift through the pleadings and evidence, question counsel, and issue an order pinning down which material facts are undisputed and which remain in real controversy. At trial, the facts the order specifies are treated as already established, narrowing what the parties still have to prove.

The rule is exacting about affidavits: they have to rest on personal knowledge, set out facts that would be admissible in evidence, and show the affiant is competent to testify to them, with sworn or certified copies of any referenced documents attached. A party opposing a properly supported motion cannot rest on the allegations or denials in its pleading — it has to respond with specific facts showing a genuine issue for trial, or judgment goes against it. If a party cannot yet marshal the facts it needs, the court can refuse the motion, order a continuance, or allow more discovery instead. And if the court finds that affidavits were submitted in bad faith or for the purpose of delay, it can order the offending party to cover the other side’s reasonable expenses and attorney’s fees, and can hold that party or its attorney in contempt.