Nebraska Motion for Summary Judgment

A Nebraska motion for summary judgment is governed by the state's Summary Judgment Act, Neb. Rev. Stat. sections 25-1330 to 25-1336, together with a statewide court rule, Neb. Ct. R. section 6-1526, for district court (county courts follow a parallel rule, section 6-1471). A claimant may move for summary judgment any time after 30 days from service of process on the opposing party, or after the opposing party serves its own summary judgment motion; a defending party may move at any time, with no waiting period (Neb. Rev. Stat. sections 25-1330, 25-1331). Neither the statute nor the court rule sets a statewide cutoff for how close to trial the motion may be filed; instead, the assigned judge is expected to schedule the case's summary judgment deadlines (Neb. Ct. R. section 6-1526(D)). The motion itself must be served at least 10 days before the date set for the hearing (Neb. Rev. Stat. section 25-1332(1)). The statute uses only the word "days," without specifying calendar or court days, so confirm the count with the assigned judge's scheduling order or the clerk's office. Nebraska sets no fixed statewide number of days for the opposing party's response: the statute requires only that the adverse party serve opposing affidavits "prior to the day of hearing" (Neb. Rev. Stat. section 25-1332(1)), and Neb. Ct. R. section 6-1526(D) puts the assigned judge in charge of setting, and in the judge's discretion extending, the actual briefing deadlines. A self-represented respondent will not find a firm response deadline in the statute or the uniform rule; it lives in the judge's scheduling order or a judicial district's local rule. The court grants the motion if "the pleadings and the evidence admitted at the hearing show that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law" (Neb. Rev. Stat. section 25-1332(1)). Laws 2017, LB204, changed the statute's former "genuine issue" language to "genuine dispute" and added burden-shifting subsections: a party asserting that a fact cannot be or is genuinely disputed must support that assertion either by citing particular record materials or by showing that the cited materials do not establish the fact, or that an adverse party cannot produce admissible evidence to support it (Neb. Rev. Stat. section 25-1332(2)). The companion court rule, section 6-1526, was amended effective January 1, 2022, and layers a mandatory paperwork requirement on top of the statute: the moving party must simultaneously file with the clerk, and serve on all parties, an Evidence Index in Support and an Annotated Statement of Undisputed Facts, in concise numbered paragraphs pinpoint-cited to the Evidence Index, filed as separate documents rather than included inside a party's brief (Neb. Ct. R. section 6-1526(A), (E)). Failing to file the Statement can itself be grounds for denying the motion. The opposing party must respond in kind with its own Evidence Index in Opposition and an Annotated Statement of Disputed Facts before the hearing, and failing to file that Statement can itself be grounds for sustaining the motion (Neb. Ct. R. section 6-1526(B)). Supporting affidavits, on either side, must be made on personal knowledge, set out facts admissible in evidence, and show the affiant is competent to testify (Neb. Rev. Stat. section 25-1334). Nebraska has no separately named no-evidence motion like Texas, but a movant may satisfy its burden the same way, by showing that the adverse party cannot produce admissible evidence to support a fact (Neb. Rev. Stat. section 25-1332(2)(b)). A party may move for summary judgment on all or only part of a claim, including on the issue of liability alone even if a genuine dispute remains over the amount of damages, and when only part of the case is resolved the court must, if practicable, identify the facts not in substantial controversy so that they are deemed established at trial (Neb. Rev. Stat. sections 25-1330, 25-1331, 25-1332(1), 25-1333). If it appears from an opposing affidavit that a party cannot yet present facts essential to its opposition, the court may refuse the motion or order a continuance (Neb. Rev. Stat. section 25-1335). This page covers a civil motion for summary judgment in Nebraska state trial court. If you are testing 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 procedure, and is outside the scope of this page. Summary judgment is technical, and a motion is often lost on procedure, such as a missing Statement of Facts, rather than on the merits. A motion is not automatically granted just because the other side fails to respond, and the outcome cannot be guaranteed. Attorney review is available before you file or respond.