Local Rule RULE 7056-3: NOTICE TO PRO SE LITIGANTS OPPOSING SUMMARY JUDGMENT

RULE 7056-3 NOTICE TO PRO SE LITIGANTS OPPOSING SUMMARY JUDGMENT A party moving for summary judgment under Rule 7056 of the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure against a party not represented by an attorney must file and serve a separate "Notice to Pro Se Litigant Opposing Motion for Summary Judgment" in the form below. If the unrepresented party is the plaintiff, the movant must modify the form accordingly.

NOTICE TO PRO SE LITIGANT OPPOSING MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT Your opponent has asked the court to issue a "summary judgment" against you. That means your opponent (called "the movant") believes a trial is unnecessary because there is no disagreement about the important facts of the case, and under the law the movant should win.

To defeat the motion, you must do one of two things: either (1) you must show there is a real dispute about one or more important facts, so that a trial is necessary to decide the actual facts, or (2) you must explain why the movant is wrong about the law.

For the motion to be denied, you must file a written response. Your written response must comply with Rule 56(e) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and Local Rule 7056-2 of this court. These rules are available on the internet and at any law library.

The movant has filed a statement of the facts that the movant believes are both important and undisputed. You must respond to the statement in writing. Your response must have numbered paragraphs that answer the matching paragraphs in the movant's statement.

You can answer each of the movant's facts by admitting or denying it. If you deny one of the movant's facts, you must list after the denial the document, affidavit, parts of the record, or other evidence that shows the fact is untrue, and you must attach to your response the document, affidavit, parts of the record, or other evidence you've listed. You can also say that one or more of the movant's facts is unimportant or irrelevant and shouldn't be considered. If you do that, you must explain why the fact shouldn't be considered.

You can rely on your own affidavit or an affidavit from someone else. An affidavit is a signed and dated statement. The affidavit must end with this phrase: "I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States of America that the foregoing is true and correct."

If you are the defendant, you can also file your own statement of additional facts that you believe create a dispute and require a trial. Each fact in your statement of additional facts must be supported by documents, affidavits, parts of the record, or other evidence. After each fact, you must list the document, affidavit, or part of the record that shows the fact is true, and the supporting documents, affidavits, parts of the record, or other evidence listed must be attached to the statement.

Finally, if you believe the movant is wrong about the law, you must explain why and must cite the judicial decisions, statutes, or other legal authorities that support your explanation.

You must follow the rules carefully, responding to each of the movant's facts and describing and attaching the materials that show any facts you've denied are untrue. If you don't respond, or don't respond correctly, the judge will assume the movant's facts are true. If the movant's facts are true and the movant is right about the law, the movant will win. Judgment will be entered for the movant and against you.