Summary judgment

Summary judgment is a civil procedure that lets a court decide a claim or defence without a full trial where there is no genuine issue requiring a trial. The moving party asks the court to rule on a paper record of affidavits and other evidence, sometimes supplemented by limited oral evidence, rather than waiting years for a conventional trial.

In Hryniak v. Mauldin, 2014 SCC 7, the Supreme Court of Canada called for a culture shift toward proportionate, timely, and affordable civil justice, holding that summary judgment should be granted whenever the process allows the judge to find the necessary facts, apply the law, and reach a fair and just result. Since Hryniak, summary judgment motions have become a central tool of civil litigation strategy, and the case law on when a trial is truly required is a frequent research subject. The precise rules and powers vary by province, so the applicable rules of court must always be checked.