Alaska Motion for Summary Judgment
Alaska ties the summary judgment clock to service of the motion rather than to a hearing date: the opposing party has 15 calendar days from service to oppose, or until the defendant's answer is due if the plaintiff is the movant, whichever is later, the movant has 5 days from service of the opposition to reply, excluding intermediate weekends and holidays, and Alaska applies its own summary judgment standard, which its courts call more rigorous than the federal test.
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Introduction
Alaska does not set a fixed number of days of advance notice before a summary judgment hearing the way some states do; the opposition and reply deadlines run forward from service, not backward from a hearing date, and if oral argument is held it must be set no more than 45 days from the date the request is filed or the motion is ripe for decision, whichever is later (Alaska R. Civ. P. 77(c)(2)(ii), (d), (e)(3)). Once a motion for summary judgment is served, the opposing party, the respondent, must file its opposition within 15 calendar days from the date of service, or, if the plaintiff is the movant, by the date the defendant's answer is due, whichever is later; the movant may then file a reply within 5 calendar days of service of that opposition (Alaska R. Civ. P. 77(c)(2)(ii), (d)). The 15-day opposition period runs under Civil Rule 6(a): because it is 7 days or longer, only the last day of the period shifts off a weekend or holiday, while the 5-day reply period, being under 7 days, excludes intermediate Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays from the count. Alaska Rule of Civil Procedure 56 sets no statewide cutoff for when a summary judgment motion must be filed relative to trial; that deadline is instead set case by case in the Rule 16(b) scheduling order for the individual case. A defending party may move for summary judgment at any time, with no waiting period; a claimant, cross-claimant, or party seeking declaratory relief may not move until 20 days after the action commenced, or until the adverse party serves its own summary judgment motion, whichever comes first (Alaska R. Civ. P. 56(a)-(b)). Alaska applies its own summary judgment standard rather than the federal Celotex/Anderson v. Liberty Lobby standard used in federal court: the Alaska Supreme Court expressly rejected that federal approach in Moffatt v. Brown (1988) and reaffirmed the rejection in Christensen v. Alaska Sales & Serv., Inc. (2014), and Alaska's own courts describe the resulting standard as more rigorous than the federal standard (Alaska R. Civ. P. 56(c); Christensen v. Alaska Sales & Serv., Inc., 335 P.3d 514, 519-20 (Alaska 2014); DeNardo v. Bax, 147 P.3d 672, 683-84 (Alaska 2006); Moffatt v. Brown, 751 P.2d 939, 943-44 (Alaska 1988)). Under that standard, judgment is entered if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with any affidavits, show there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that a party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law; to defeat the motion, the opposing party must make a showing that a genuine issue of material fact exists to be litigated, not a showing that it will ultimately prevail. Civil Rule 56 was last amended effective April 15, 2002, and the related motion-timing rule, Civil Rule 77, was last amended effective February 6, 2023. Required papers include the notice of motion, a memorandum showing there is no genuine issue as to any material fact, which is mandatory, and a proposed order for the court's signature if the motion is granted; affidavits are optional support, not a required attachment (Alaska R. Civ. P. 56(c), (e); 77(b)(3)). Alaska has no mandatory two-column separate statement of undisputed facts: the opposing party may, but is not required to, serve a concise statement of genuine issues, and no equivalent statement is required of the movant at all (Alaska R. Civ. P. 56(c)). Alaska has no separately named procedural variant like a no-evidence motion; the same Rule 56(a)-(b) motion may reach the whole case or any part of it, and where judgment does not dispose of the whole case, Rule 56(d) lets the court identify the facts established without substantial controversy for use at the later trial, serving as Alaska's partial-adjudication mechanism (Alaska R. Civ. P. 56(a), (b), (d)). A summary judgment motion in Alaska is ordinarily decided on the papers without oral argument, but if a party timely requests argument, within 5 days after service of a responsive pleading or the deadline for one, whichever is earlier, the court's usual discretion to deny argument does not apply to summary judgment motions specifically (Alaska R. Civ. P. 77(e)(1)-(2), (f)). This page covers a civil motion for summary judgment in Alaska state trial court under Civil Rule 56. It does not cover a motion to dismiss, see DocDraft's motion to dismiss page, or a motion to set aside a default judgment, see DocDraft's motion to set aside a default page, and it does not cover a motion for summary judgment in federal court, which follows Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56 rather than Alaska's rule. Summary judgment practice is technical and is frequently lost on procedure rather than the merits; an unopposed motion is not automatically granted, since the court must still find no genuine issue of material fact and entitlement to judgment as a matter of law, and attorney review is available before filing or responding.
Key Things to Know
- 1
Alaska ties the summary judgment clock to service of the motion, not to a fixed pre-hearing notice period: the opposing party has 15 calendar days from service to file its opposition, or the date its answer is due if the plaintiff is the movant, whichever is later, and the movant then has 5 calendar days from service of the opposition to file a reply, with intermediate Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays excluded from that count (Alaska R. Civ. P. 77(c)(2)(ii), (d)).
- 2
If you were served with an Alaska motion for summary judgment, your 15-calendar-day opposition period, or the date the defendant's answer is due if the plaintiff is the movant, whichever is later, is computed under Civil Rule 6(a): only the last day shifts if it falls on a weekend or holiday (Alaska R. Civ. P. 6(a); 77(c)(2)(ii)).
- 3
Alaska Rule of Civil Procedure 56 sets no statewide cutoff for filing a summary judgment motion before trial; that deadline is set case by case in the Rule 16(b) scheduling order. A defending party may move at any time, while a claimant or party seeking declaratory relief must wait 20 days after the action commenced, or until the adverse party moves first, whichever comes first (Alaska R. Civ. P. 56(a)-(b)).
- 4
Alaska applies its own summary judgment standard rather than the federal Celotex/Liberty Lobby standard: the Alaska Supreme Court expressly rejected the federal approach in Moffatt v. Brown (1988), reaffirmed in Christensen v. Alaska Sales & Serv., Inc. (2014), and Alaska's courts describe the result as more rigorous than the federal standard.
- 5
Alaska has no mandatory two-column separate statement of undisputed facts. A memorandum showing there is no genuine issue as to any material fact is mandatory; affidavits are optional support, and the opposing party may, but need not, file a concise statement of genuine issues (Alaska R. Civ. P. 56(c), (e)).
- 6
An unopposed Alaska motion for summary judgment is not automatically granted: the court must still find there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law before entering judgment (Alaska R. Civ. P. 56(c)).
- 7
Alaska has no separately named no-evidence or summary-adjudication motion; the same Rule 56(a)-(b) motion may reach the whole case or any part of it, and Rule 56(d) lets the court identify facts established without substantial controversy for trial. This page covers only a state-court motion for summary judgment, not a motion to dismiss, not a motion to set aside a default judgment, and not a federal court motion, which follows a different rule.
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a Motion for Summary Judgment in Alaska, a few decisions shape the document: which option to choose and what each one means. The Motion for Summary Judgment guide walks through them.
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Alaska Requirements for Motion for Summary Judgment
15-Calendar-Day Opposition Deadline Runs From Service
The respondent must file its opposition within 15 calendar days from the date of service, or, if the plaintiff is the movant, by the date the defendant's answer is due, whichever is later (Alaska R. Civ. P. 77(c)(2)(ii)).
5-Calendar-Day Reply Deadline
The movant may file a reply within 5 calendar days of service of the opposition; because the period is under 7 days, intermediate Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays are excluded from the count (Alaska R. Civ. P. 6(a); 77(d)).
No Statewide Filing Cutoff Before Trial
Alaska Rule of Civil Procedure 56 sets no deadline tied to the trial date; the deadline to file a summary judgment motion is instead set case by case in the Rule 16(b) scheduling order.
Alaska's Own Summary Judgment Standard, Not the Federal Standard
The Alaska Supreme Court expressly rejected the federal Celotex/Anderson v. Liberty Lobby standard in Moffatt v. Brown (1988), reaffirmed in Christensen v. Alaska Sales & Serv., Inc. (2014), applying instead a standard its own courts call more rigorous than the federal standard (Alaska R. Civ. P. 56(c)).
No Mandatory Separate Statement of Undisputed Facts
Alaska has no mandatory two-column separate statement. The opposing party may, but is not required to, serve a concise statement of genuine issues, and no equivalent statement is required of the movant (Alaska R. Civ. P. 56(c)).
Supporting Memorandum Required
A memorandum showing there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law must be served and filed with the motion (Alaska R. Civ. P. 56(c)).
Proposed Order Required if Motion Is Granted
A proposed order for the court's signature must accompany the motion (Alaska R. Civ. P. 77(b)(3)).
Partial Summary Judgment Under the Same Rule 56 Motion
Alaska has no separately named no-evidence or summary-adjudication motion; a party may move for judgment on all or any part of a claim, counterclaim, cross-claim, or declaratory judgment request under the same Rule 56(a)-(b) motion (Alaska R. Civ. P. 56(a)-(b)).
Oral Argument Request Deadline for Summary Judgment Motions
A party wanting oral argument must request it within 5 days after service of a responsive pleading or the deadline for filing one, whichever is earlier; unlike most motions, the court's usual discretion to deny argument does not apply to summary judgment motions (Alaska R. Civ. P. 77(e)(1)-(2), (f)).