Friday audio--Section A, Section B. Prelim Exam due at the beginning of class next Thursday. Essay # 6 will post at 12:30 p.m. on Thursday.
We continue with Summary Judgment: Standards and Procedures. Be sure to review FRCP 50.
• What is the connection between discovery and summary judgment?
• How does summary judgment differ from 12(b)(6) and 12(c)? What will the court consider on a motion for summary judgment? What is a stipulation?
• What is an affidavit or declaration (and how do they differ)? How else can a party preview a witness' testimony besides an affidavit or declaration? What is the difference and when will the party choose one or the other?
• Break down the elements of FRCP 26(a) and the meaning of each key term. Think of how these terms apply in Scott, Adickes, and Celotex. What are the key facts in each case? How does the court decide each of these terms without acting as factfinder?
• What is the burden of production and the burden of persuasion?
• How do FRCP 50 and 56 relate to one another, according to Celotex?
• What was wrong with the affidavits in Adickes? How could they have been corrected?
• Can you reconcile Adickes and Celotex in terms of what the movant must do to support a summary judgment motion? What would have happened, on the evidence the plaintiff had, if Adickes had gone to trial? What does Justice White's concurrence in Celotex add to this question?
• Imagine the plaintiff in Adickes opposing summary judgment via the Celotex method. What could the defendant ask for in discovery, how could plaintiff respond, and how could summary judgment proceed?
• What makes a dispute genuine? How genuine must it be? How much uncertainty can there be about a fact to be in dispute?
• What form must the evidence be on summary judgment? What evidence did Mrs. Catrett have in Celotex?
Something else to consider: What is the argument that Scott was wrongly decided because the Court's approach to video was wrong?
