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Delaware Motion for Summary Judgment

Delaware's Superior Court requires a summary judgment motion to be served at least 10 days before the hearing and any response no later than 4 days before that hearing, both counts excluding intervening weekends and court holidays; the separate Court of Chancery runs on its own, more recently modernized version of the same rule.

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Introduction

A Delaware motion for summary judgment in the Superior Court, the state's general trial court, may be filed by a claimant any time after 20 days from the commencement of the action, or after the adverse party serves its own summary judgment motion, and at any time before the marking of the case for trial; a defending party may move at any time, with no earliest-date restriction stated in the rule, and the Court may allow a motion outside these limits if it decides after a pretrial conference that one is desirable (Del. Super. Ct. Civ. R. 56(a)-(b), (bb)). The motion must be served at least 10 days before the date fixed for the hearing, and because that period is under 11 days, Superior Court Civil Rule 6(a) computes it by excluding intervening Saturdays, Sundays, and court holidays (Del. Super. Ct. Civ. R. 56(c); Del. Super. Ct. Civ. R. 6(a)). A response in opposition must be filed no later than 4 days before the hearing under the general motion-response rule, computed the same weekends-and-holidays-excluded way (Del. Super. Ct. Civ. R. 78(b)). Delaware's rule contemplates a hearing, but Superior Court Civil Rule 78(c) lets the Court decide the motion on the papers without oral argument unless argument is separately scheduled. The Superior Court's own rule text still asks whether the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, admissions, and any affidavits show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law, language unchanged since it was last amended effective July 1, 2005 (Del. Super. Ct. Civ. R. 56(c)). The separate Court of Chancery, Delaware's equity court for corporate and fiduciary disputes, runs on its own Court of Chancery Rule 56, restyled effective June 1, 2026 to the modern formulation asking whether there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact. Supporting and opposing affidavits must be made on personal knowledge, set out facts that would be admissible in evidence, and show the affiant is competent to testify, with sworn or certified copies of any referenced papers attached; Delaware's Superior Court rule does not require a separate statement of undisputed material facts the way some states do (Del. Super. Ct. Civ. R. 56(e)). A party may also move for partial summary judgment on the issue of liability alone, leaving the amount of damages for trial (Del. Super. Ct. Civ. R. 56(c)-(d)). A case proceeding under the Superior Court's opt-in Summary Proceedings for Commercial Disputes track, for consenting parties in commercial disputes generally over $100,000, cannot use a summary judgment motion at all (Del. Super. Ct. Civ. R. 128). This page covers a civil motion for summary judgment in Delaware's Superior Court, with notes on the Court of Chancery, whose own rules set different filing limits; it does not cover the Court of Common Pleas. If you are asking a court to test the sufficiency of a complaint before answering it, see DocDraft's motion to dismiss page; if you are trying to undo a default judgment, see DocDraft's motion to set aside a default; and a federal civil case follows Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56, not this state rule, and is outside the scope of this page. Summary judgment is technical and is often lost on procedure rather than the merits, and a motion is not automatically granted just because the other side fails to respond. Attorney review is available before you file or respond.

Key Things to Know

  1. 1

    Delaware's Superior Court requires the motion to be served at least 10 days before the hearing date, and any response in opposition is due no later than 4 days before that hearing; both counts exclude intervening weekends and court holidays because each period runs under 11 days (Del. Super. Ct. Civ. R. 56(c); Del. Super. Ct. Civ. R. 78(b); Del. Super. Ct. Civ. R. 6(a)).

  2. 2

    In the Superior Court, a claimant may move for summary judgment only after 20 days from the commencement of the action, or after the other side serves its own motion, and must do so before the case is marked for trial; a defending party may move at any time, with no earliest-date restriction stated in the rule; the Court may still allow a motion outside these limits after a pretrial conference (Del. Super. Ct. Civ. R. 56(a)-(b), (bb)).

  3. 3

    If you were served with a Delaware summary judgment motion, your response is due no later than 4 days before the hearing date stated in the notice, not a set number of days after service; count backward from the hearing date, excluding weekends and court holidays.

  4. 4

    Superior Court Civil Rule 56(c) still asks whether there is no genuine issue as to any material fact, unchanged since it was last amended effective July 1, 2005; the separate Court of Chancery uses a modernized no genuine dispute standard under its own Rule 56(a), restyled effective June 1, 2026.

  5. 5

    Supporting and opposing affidavits must be made on personal knowledge, set out admissible facts, and show the affiant is competent to testify, with sworn or certified copies of referenced papers attached; Delaware's Superior Court rule does not require a separate statement of undisputed material facts (Del. Super. Ct. Civ. R. 56(e)).

  6. 6

    A Delaware motion for summary judgment is not automatically granted just because the other side fails to respond; the court must still find no genuine issue, or in Chancery no genuine dispute, of material fact and that the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.

  7. 7

    Partial summary judgment on liability alone is allowed, but a case in the Superior Court's opt-in Summary Proceedings for Commercial Disputes track cannot use a summary judgment motion at all (Del. Super. Ct. Civ. R. 128); this page covers Delaware's Superior Court and Court of Chancery only, not the Court of Common Pleas, a motion to dismiss, a default judgment, or federal court.

Key decisions before you file

Before you file a Motion for Summary Judgment in Delaware, a few decisions shape the document: which option to choose and what each one means. The Motion for Summary Judgment guide walks through them.

Open the Motion for Summary Judgment guide

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Delaware Requirements for Motion for Summary Judgment

  • 10-Day Notice Before the Hearing

    In the Superior Court, the motion must be served at least 10 days before the date fixed for the hearing; because that period runs under 11 days, Superior Court Civil Rule 6(a) computes it by excluding intervening weekends and court holidays (Del. Super. Ct. Civ. R. 56(c)).

  • 4-Day Response Deadline Before the Hearing

    In the Superior Court, a response in opposition must be filed no later than 4 days before the hearing on the motion, computed the same weekends-and-holidays-excluded way as the notice period (Del. Super. Ct. Civ. R. 78(b)).

  • Earliest Filing Window for a Claimant

    In the Superior Court, a claimant may move only after 20 days from the commencement of the action, or after the adverse party serves its own motion, and before the case is marked for trial; a defending party may move at any time. The Court may allow a motion outside these limits after a pretrial conference (Del. Super. Ct. Civ. R. 56(a)-(b), (bb)).

  • Superior Court's Pre-2010 Genuine Issue Standard

    Superior Court Civil Rule 56(c) asks whether there is no genuine issue as to any material fact, language unchanged since the rule was last amended effective July 1, 2005 (Del. Super. Ct. Civ. R. 56(c)).

  • Court of Chancery's Modernized Genuine Dispute Standard

    The separate Court of Chancery uses its own Rule 56(a), restyled effective June 1, 2026, asking whether there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact, a differently worded standard than the Superior Court's rule.

  • No Statewide Separate Statement Requirement

    Delaware's Superior Court Civil Rule 56 does not require a standalone separate statement of undisputed material facts, unlike some other states (Del. Super. Ct. Civ. R. 56(a)-(c)).

  • Affidavits Made on Personal Knowledge

    Supporting and opposing affidavits must be made on personal knowledge, set forth facts that would be admissible in evidence, and show the affiant is competent to testify, with sworn or certified copies of referenced papers attached (Del. Super. Ct. Civ. R. 56(e)).

  • Partial Summary Judgment on Liability Alone

    A summary judgment interlocutory in character may be rendered on the issue of liability alone even though there is a genuine issue as to the amount of damages (Del. Super. Ct. Civ. R. 56(c)-(d)).

  • Summary Proceedings Track Bars Summary Judgment

    In the Superior Court's opt-in Summary Proceedings for Commercial Disputes track, for consenting parties in commercial disputes generally over $100,000, no motion for summary judgment is permitted (Del. Super. Ct. Civ. R. 124; Del. Super. Ct. Civ. R. 128).

Frequently Asked Questions