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North Dakota Motion for Summary Judgment

North Dakota counts the summary judgment response deadline forward from service, not backward from a hearing date: the opposing party has 30 calendar days to respond and the movant has 14 calendar days to reply, while the motion itself must be filed at least 45 calendar days before the hearing and 90 calendar days before trial, under N.D.R.Civ.P. 56(c)(1).

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Introduction

North Dakota Rule of Civil Procedure 56 counts the summary judgment response deadline forward from service of the moving brief, not backward from a hearing date. A claiming party may move for summary judgment only after 21 days have passed from commencement of the action, or immediately once the opposing party serves its own summary judgment motion, while a defending party may move at any time, with or without supporting declarations, with no waiting period at all (N.D.R.Civ.P. 56(a)-(b)). The motion and its supporting documents must be filed at least 90 calendar days before the day set for trial and 45 calendar days before the day set for any hearing, unless the court orders otherwise (N.D.R.Civ.P. 56(c)(1)). Once the moving brief is served, the opposing party, the party who received the motion, has 30 calendar days to serve and file an answer brief and supporting documents, and the moving party has 14 calendar days to serve and file a reply brief (N.D.R.Civ.P. 56(c)(1)). A hearing is not the default outcome: under N.D.R.Ct. 3.2(a)(1)-(2), a summary judgment motion is considered submitted to the court on the briefs unless a party timely requests oral argument or an evidentiary hearing; if an evidentiary hearing is requested, 21 days' notice is required. The governing standard, unchanged in substance, asks whether the pleadings, the discovery and disclosure materials on file, and any declarations show there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law (N.D.R.Civ.P. 56(c)(3)). North Dakota has never adopted the post-2010 federal 'genuine dispute' phrasing and still uses 'genuine issue.' The most recent amendment, effective March 1, 2021, was terminological only, replacing 'affidavit' with 'declaration'; the last substantive change, effective March 1, 2019, set today's filing and response deadlines and the brief-length limits. Required papers include a notice of motion stating whether any hearing will address evidence, oral argument, or both, or that the motion will be decided on the briefs (N.D.R.Ct. 3.2(a)(1)); the motion itself; any declarations, which must be on personal knowledge, set out admissible facts, and show the declarant's competence to testify, with sworn or certified copies of any referenced document attached (N.D.R.Civ.P. 56(e)(1)); and a principal or answer brief of no more than 38 pages, double-spaced in 12-point or larger type, or a reply brief of no more than 12 pages, with footnotes counted toward the limit (N.D.R.Civ.P. 56(c)(2)(A)-(B)). North Dakota does not require a separate statement of undisputed material facts. Partial summary judgment is built directly into the base rule: either party may move for judgment on all or part of a claim, the court may specify which facts are not genuinely at issue when the whole action is not resolved on the motion, and it may render an interlocutory judgment on liability alone even while damages remain disputed (N.D.R.Civ.P. 56(a)-(b), (d)(1)-(2)). Both the mover and the opposing party need to track these deadlines closely, since North Dakota's forward-counting clock is easy to miscalculate if you assume it runs backward from a hearing the way some states' rules do. Summary judgment is technical and is often lost on procedure rather than the merits; a motion is not automatically granted just because the other side fails to respond, since the court must still find no genuine issue of material fact and entitlement to judgment as a matter of law. Attorney review is available before filing or responding. This page covers a civil motion for summary judgment in a North Dakota state district court under Rule 56. It does not cover a motion to dismiss, a motion to set aside a default judgment, or a motion for summary judgment in federal court, which follows Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56 rather than North Dakota's own rule.

Key Things to Know

  1. 1

    The clock runs forward from service, not backward from a hearing: once the moving brief is served, the opposing party has 30 calendar days to serve and file an answer brief, the movant has 14 calendar days to serve and file a reply brief, and the motion itself must be filed at least 45 calendar days before the hearing and 90 calendar days before trial (N.D.R.Civ.P. 56(c)(1)).

  2. 2

    If you are the opposing party who was served with the motion, calculate your 30-calendar-day response window from the date of service, not from any hearing notice, and use it to serve and file your answer brief and any supporting declarations (N.D.R.Civ.P. 56(c)(1)).

  3. 3

    A motion for summary judgment is not automatically granted just because the opposing party fails to respond; the court must still find there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law (N.D.R.Civ.P. 56(c)(3)).

  4. 4

    The most recent amendment, effective March 1, 2021, only replaced the word 'affidavit' with 'declaration.' The last substantive change, effective March 1, 2019, set the current filing and response deadlines and the brief-length limits.

  5. 5

    A hearing is not the default: under N.D.R.Ct. 3.2(a)(1)-(2), a summary judgment motion is considered submitted on the briefs unless a party timely requests oral argument or an evidentiary hearing; an evidentiary hearing requires 21 days' notice.

  6. 6

    North Dakota does not require a separate statement of undisputed material facts. A principal or answer brief may not exceed 38 pages and a reply brief may not exceed 12 pages, with footnotes counted in the page limit (N.D.R.Civ.P. 56(c)(2)(A)-(B)).

  7. 7

    Partial summary judgment is built into the base rule, letting a party move on all or part of a claim, with an interlocutory judgment on liability alone possible even if damages remain disputed (N.D.R.Civ.P. 56(a)-(b), (d)(2)). This page covers only a motion for summary judgment in North Dakota state district court, 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 North Dakota, 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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North Dakota Requirements for Motion for Summary Judgment

  • 30-Calendar-Day Response Deadline Runs Forward From Service

    The opposing party has 30 calendar days after service of the moving brief to serve and file an answer brief and supporting documents, with the clock running forward from service rather than backward from a hearing date (N.D.R.Civ.P. 56(c)(1)).

  • 14-Calendar-Day Reply Deadline

    The moving party has 14 calendar days to serve and file a reply brief (N.D.R.Civ.P. 56(c)(1)).

  • Motion Filed 45 Days Before Hearing, 90 Days Before Trial

    The motion and its supporting documents must be filed at least 90 calendar days before the day set for trial and 45 calendar days before the day set for any hearing, unless the court orders otherwise (N.D.R.Civ.P. 56(c)(1)).

  • No Waiting Period For A Defending Party

    A defending party may move for summary judgment at any time, with or without supporting declarations. A claiming party must instead wait 21 days after commencement of the action, or may move immediately once the opposing party serves its own summary judgment motion (N.D.R.Civ.P. 56(a)-(b)).

  • No Separate Statement Of Undisputed Material Facts Required

    North Dakota's Rule 56 does not require a standalone separate statement of undisputed material facts.

  • Brief Page Limits: 38 Pages Principal Or Answer, 12 Pages Reply

    A principal or answer brief may not exceed 38 pages and must be double-spaced in 12-point or larger type, and a reply brief may not exceed 12 pages, with footnotes counted toward the limit (N.D.R.Civ.P. 56(c)(2)(A)-(B)).

  • Motion Decided On The Briefs Unless A Hearing Is Requested

    Under N.D.R.Ct. 3.2(a)(1)-(2), a summary judgment motion is considered submitted to the court on the briefs unless a party timely requests oral argument or an evidentiary hearing; an evidentiary hearing requires 21 days' notice.

  • Partial Summary Judgment Built Into The Base Rule

    Rule 56(a)-(b) lets either party move for summary judgment on all or part of a claim without a separate procedure or label, and Rule 56(d)(2) allows an interlocutory judgment on liability alone even if damages remain genuinely disputed.

  • Terminology Updated From Affidavit To Declaration

    Effective March 1, 2021, Rule 56 replaced the word 'affidavit' with 'declaration' throughout; the change was terminological only and did not alter the deadlines or brief-length limits set in the March 1, 2019 amendment.

Frequently Asked Questions