Missouri Motion for Summary Judgment
Missouri Rule 74.04 sets no hearing on a motion for summary judgment at all: the adverse party must serve a response within 30 calendar days of service, the movant may serve a reply within 15 calendar days after that, and a sur-reply is due within 15 more calendar days if the reply adds new facts, after which the court decides the motion on the papers.
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Introduction
A Missouri motion for summary judgment departs from most states in one respect above all: Missouri Supreme Court Rule 74.04 provides for no hearing on the motion at all. A claimant, counterclaimant, cross-claimant, or a party seeking a declaratory judgment may move for summary judgment any time after 30 days from the commencement of the action, or immediately if the adverse party has already served its own motion for summary judgment; a defending party may move at any time, with no waiting period (Mo. Sup. Ct. R. 74.04(a), (b)). Once the motion is served, the adverse party must serve a response on all parties within 30 calendar days after service of the motion (Mo. Sup. Ct. R. 74.04(c)(2)). The movant may then serve a reply within 15 calendar days after service of the response (Mo. Sup. Ct. R. 74.04(c)(3)), and if that reply adds a new statement of additional material facts, the adverse party must serve a sur-reply within 15 calendar days after service of the reply (Mo. Sup. Ct. R. 74.04(c)(4)). These deadlines run forward from service of the prior paper rather than backward from a hearing date, and are counted under Rule 44.01(a): the days are calendar days, with intermediate Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays excluded only if the period is less than 7 days, and 3 days are added if the prior paper was served by mail (Rule 44.01(a), (d)). After the response, reply, and any sur-reply are filed or their deadlines expire, the court decides the motion on the written submissions alone; Rule 74.04 sets no statewide filing cutoff tied to a trial date, and any such cutoff comes from the individual circuit's own case-management or scheduling order. The standard has not changed since Rule 74.04 was last amended effective July 1, 2008: summary judgment is granted where the motion, the response, the reply, and the sur-reply show there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law (Mo. Sup. Ct. R. 74.04(c)(6)). The motion must be supported by a statement of uncontroverted material facts in separately numbered paragraphs, each with a specific citation to the pleadings, discovery, exhibits, or affidavits that support it, along with a separate legal memorandum and an electronic copy of the statement in a commonly used word-processing format (Mo. Sup. Ct. R. 74.04(c)(1)). A response that does not specifically admit or deny each numbered paragraph with its own record citations is deemed an admission of that paragraph (Mo. Sup. Ct. R. 74.04(c)(2)); this is the single most important fact for anyone who has been served with a Missouri summary judgment motion. Missouri has no separate summary adjudication procedure or Texas-style no-evidence motion; partial summary judgment is built directly into the general rule, which authorizes a motion upon all or any part of the pending issues, and Rule 74.04(d) requires the court, where the motion does not dispose of the whole case, to specify, so far as practicable, which material facts are without substantial controversy for trial (Mo. Sup. Ct. R. 74.04(a), (b), (d)). The rule also allows an interlocutory summary judgment on liability alone even where a genuine issue remains as to the amount of damages (Mo. Sup. Ct. R. 74.04(c)(6)). This page covers a civil motion for summary judgment in Missouri state trial court. 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 while a motion is not automatically granted just because the other side fails to respond, a response that does not comply with the numbered-paragraph requirement is an admission of each noncompliant paragraph (Mo. Sup. Ct. R. 74.04(c)(2)). Attorney review is available before you file or respond.
Key Things to Know
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Missouri Rule 74.04 provides for no hearing on a motion for summary judgment. The adverse party must serve a response within 30 calendar days after service of the motion, the movant may serve a reply within 15 calendar days after that, and a sur-reply is due within 15 more calendar days if the reply adds new facts, all counted as calendar days under Rule 44.01(a) (Mo. Sup. Ct. R. 74.04(c)(2)-(4)).
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If you were served with a Missouri motion for summary judgment, your 30-calendar-day response clock starts from the date of service (with 3 days added if you were served by mail under Rule 44.01(d)), not from any hearing notice, because Rule 74.04 has no hearing provision at all.
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A Missouri response that does not specifically admit or deny each of the movant's numbered material facts, with its own record citations, is deemed an admission of that fact, paragraph by paragraph (Mo. Sup. Ct. R. 74.04(c)(2)); repeating the pleadings instead of addressing each numbered fact is not enough.
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The motion must attach a statement of uncontroverted material facts in separately numbered paragraphs with specific record citations, a separate legal memorandum, and an electronic copy of the statement in a commonly used word-processing format (Mo. Sup. Ct. R. 74.04(c)(1)).
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Missouri has no separate summary adjudication procedure or Texas-style no-evidence motion. Partial summary judgment is built into the general rule itself, which lets a party move on all or any part of the pending issues, and the rule also allows an interlocutory judgment on liability alone even if damages remain disputed (Mo. Sup. Ct. R. 74.04(a), (b), (d), (c)(6)).
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An unopposed or non-responsive Missouri motion for summary judgment is not automatically granted; the court must still find that the motion, and any response, reply, or sur-reply, show no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law (Mo. Sup. Ct. R. 74.04(c)(6)).
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This page covers only a Missouri state-court motion for summary judgment. To challenge a complaint's sufficiency, see DocDraft's motion to dismiss page; to undo a default judgment, see DocDraft's motion to set aside a default; a federal civil case follows Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56 and is outside the scope of this page.
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a Motion for Summary Judgment in Missouri, 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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Missouri Requirements for Motion for Summary Judgment
30-Calendar-Day Response Deadline Runs From Service
The adverse party must serve a response on all parties within 30 calendar days after a motion for summary judgment is served, with the clock running forward from service rather than backward from a hearing date, with 3 days added if the motion was served by mail (Rule 44.01(d); Mo. Sup. Ct. R. 74.04(c)(2)).
No Hearing Required; Decided on the Papers
Rule 74.04 contains no hearing provision for a motion for summary judgment. After the response, any reply, and any sur-reply are filed or their deadlines expire, the court decides the motion on the written submissions (Mo. Sup. Ct. R. 74.04(c)(6)).
15-Calendar-Day Reply Deadline
The movant may serve a reply memorandum within 15 calendar days after service of the response (Mo. Sup. Ct. R. 74.04(c)(3)).
Sur-Reply Required Only If the Reply Adds New Facts
If the movant's reply adds a new statement of additional material facts, the adverse party must serve a sur-reply within 15 calendar days after service of the reply, admitting or denying each new numbered fact (Mo. Sup. Ct. R. 74.04(c)(4)).
Non-Compliant Response Is a Deemed Admission
A response that does not specifically admit or deny a numbered paragraph in the movant's statement of uncontroverted material facts, with record citations, is deemed an admission of that fact (Mo. Sup. Ct. R. 74.04(c)(2)).
Statement of Uncontroverted Material Facts Required
The motion must attach a statement of uncontroverted material facts in separately numbered paragraphs, each with a specific citation to the pleadings, discovery, exhibits, or affidavits that support it (Mo. Sup. Ct. R. 74.04(c)(1)).
Electronic Copy of the Statement in Word-Processing Format
An electronic copy of the statement of uncontroverted material facts must be served in a commonly used word-processing format, in addition to the filed statement (Mo. Sup. Ct. R. 74.04(c)(1)).
Partial Summary Judgment Built Into the General Rule
Missouri has no separate summary adjudication procedure; Rule 74.04(a) and (b) let a party move for summary judgment upon all or any part of the pending issues, and Rule 74.04(d) requires the court, where the motion does not dispose of the whole case, to specify, so far as practicable, which material facts are without substantial controversy for trial.
Interlocutory Judgment on Liability Alone Permitted
A summary judgment interlocutory in character may be entered on any issue, including liability alone, even though a genuine issue remains as to the amount of damages (Mo. Sup. Ct. R. 74.04(c)(6)).