Personal Injury Lawyer Blog
The following blog entry is written from a defendant’s position as trial approaches. Reviewing this kind of briefing should help potential plaintiffs and clients better understand how parties in personal injury cases present such issues to the court.
It is worth noting that situations similar to those described in this medical malpractice case could just as easily occur at any of the healthcare facilities in the area, such as Kaiser Permanente, U.C. Davis Medical Center, Mercy, Sutter, or any skilled nursing facility.
(Please also note: the names and locations of all parties have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the participants in this wrongful death case and its proceedings.)
SUMMARY JUDGMENT MUST BE GRANTED AS A MATTER OF LAW WHEN NO TRIABLE ISSUE OF MATERIAL FACT EXISTS
A motion for summary judgment must be granted if there is no triable issue as to any material fact. California Code of Civil Procedure §437c(c). The court has no discretion to refuse summary judgment where the evidence before the court discloses no triable issue as to any material fact; the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Drasley v. Superior Court (1980) 101 Cal.App.3d 425, 427; see also Hills v. Aronsohn (1984) 152 Cal.App.3d 753, 759. Summary judgment is an efficient and expeditious method of disposing of unmeritorious cases. Judge v. County of Sacramento (1993) 12 Cal.App.4th 59, 70 (holding that [i]t is in the public interest, including the court’s interest in the efficient and economical administration of justice and the parties’ interest in the prompt and affordable resolution of unmeritorious cases, to expeditiously rid the judicial system of a case in which a party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law, without requiring protracted litigation and a trial on the matter ).
For more information you are welcome to contact Sacramento personal injury lawyer, Moseley Collins.
The proper case for summary judgment is one in which the plaintiff cannot prevail because there is no substantial controversy as to any of the issues raised.
Once the defendant has come forward with evidence that shows that one or more of the elements of the plaintiffs action cannot be established, the burden shifts to the plaintiff to show the existence of a triable issue of material fact. PMC, Inc. v. Saban Entertainment (1996) 45 Cal.App.4th 579, 590. (See Part 5 of 10.)
For more information you are welcome to contact Sacramento personal injury lawyer, Moseley Collins.