Document Type

Working Paper

Publication Date

10-7-2008

SSRN Discipline

Legal Scholarship Network; Litigation, Procedure & Dispute Resolution eJournals; Law & Society eJournals; LSN Subject Matter eJournals

Abstract

The Civil Rules Advisory Committee has recently proposed the most significant revisions to Rule 56 since the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure were adopted seventy years ago Although the stated goal of the proposed amendments is laudable to improve the procedures for making and opposing summaryjudgment motions and to facilitate the judges work in resolving them this Essay in the Northwestern University Law Review Colloquy identifies some unanticipated problems with the proposed text Contrary to the Advisory Committees intent the proposed text may inadvertently make substantial changes to the summaryjudgment standard and the burdens on litigants at the summaryjudgment phase This Essay suggests specific solutions that would eliminate the potentially troubling consequences of the new rule while preserving its improvements to the summaryjudgment process

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