Summary judgment

Okay kiddo, let's talk about something called summary judgment. Suppose you have a disagreement with someone and it goes to court. It means a judge will have to listen to both sides of the story and then decide who is right and who is wrong.

Now, in some cases, one side might think that they don't need to go through all that talking and explaining because the facts are so clear that the judge can easily decide in their favor. So, they might ask the judge to give them something called a summary judgment.

A summary judgment is a decision made by a judge without a full trial. It means the judge listens to the arguments of both sides but decides that there is not enough evidence to support one of the sides. The judge basically says, "I have heard both sides, but one side's arguments are just not strong enough to make a case."

Here is an example: Let's say you and your friend are arguing over who should keep a toy. You say that it's yours, but your friend says it's theirs. If your friend can't really say why it's theirs, a judge could give a summary judgment in your favor, saying "Based on what your friend has told me, I can see that the toy belongs to you."

So, summary judgment is like a shortcut, used when there is no dispute about what the facts are, and it's just a matter of determining who is right and who is wrong. It can save time and money for everyone involved because it allows the judge to make a decision quickly and move on to other cases.