Oklahoma Motion for Summary Judgment
Oklahoma runs the summary judgment clock from service of the motion, not from a hearing date: no hearing is required at all, the opposing party must respond within 15 calendar days after service, and that response is never due earlier than 45 calendar days after the original summons.
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Introduction
An Oklahoma motion for summary judgment is governed by 12 O.S. § 2056, with the procedural mechanics supplied by Rule 13 of the Rules for District Courts of Oklahoma. A party claiming relief may move for summary judgment any time after 20 calendar days have passed since commencement of the action, or as soon as the opposing party serves its own motion for summary judgment, whichever is earlier; a party defending against a claim may move at any time, with no waiting period (12 O.S. § 2056(A)-(B)). If the case has already been set for trial, the motion must be served at least 20 calendar days before the trial date, unless a scheduling order sets an earlier deadline (Okla. Dist. Ct. R. 13(a)). Oklahoma does not anchor this timeline to a hearing date the way many states do: Rule 13(f) lets the court decide the motion on the papers without holding any hearing at all, and when it does so, it must notify the parties of its ruling in writing by mail or email. Once the motion is served, the party opposing it must file a concise written statement of the material facts it contends are genuinely in dispute, with its reasons for denying the motion, within 15 calendar days after service of the motion, counted under 12 O.S. § 2006(A); that responsive statement is never due earlier than 45 calendar days after service of the first summons by, or upon, that party (Okla. Dist. Ct. R. 13(b)). A defendant hit with a summary judgment motion immediately after being served with the summons still has at least 45 calendar days to respond, even though the general rule is 15 days from service of the motion. Oklahoma's standard, drawn from 12 O.S. § 2056(C) and restated in Rule 13 as 'no substantial controversy as to any material fact,' asks whether the pleadings, discovery and disclosure materials, and any affidavits show no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. The motion must be accompanied by the movant's own concise written statement of the material facts it contends are undisputed, numbered and citing the evidentiary material supporting each one, along with a statement of argument and authority (Okla. Dist. Ct. R. 13(a)); Rule 13 does not use the term separate statement, but this concise written statement works the same way, and facts the opponent does not specifically controvert are deemed admitted for purposes of the motion. Rule 13(a) also lets a party move for summary disposition of any issue on the merits as an alternative to full summary judgment, and 12 O.S. § 2056(D) allows an interlocutory summary judgment on liability alone even where a genuine issue remains on the amount of damages; Oklahoma has no separate, Texas-style no-evidence motion. This page covers a civil motion for summary judgment in Oklahoma state district court. If you are asking the 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
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Oklahoma has no hearing-notice period to count from: Rule 13(f) lets the court decide a motion for summary judgment without any hearing at all. Once the motion is served, the opposing party must file a concise written statement of disputed facts within 15 calendar days after service, but never earlier than 45 calendar days after service of the first summons by, or upon, that party (Okla. Dist. Ct. R. 13(b)).
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If you were served with an Oklahoma motion for summary judgment, count your response deadline from the date the motion was served, not from any hearing date; you are guaranteed at least 45 calendar days from the date you were served with the original summons, even if that is longer than 15 days after the motion itself was served.
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A party claiming relief may move for summary judgment 20 calendar days after the case begins, or as soon as the other side serves its own summary judgment motion; a party defending against a claim may move at any time. If the case has been set for trial, the motion must be served at least 20 calendar days before the trial date, unless a scheduling order sets an earlier deadline (12 O.S. § 2056(A)-(B); Okla. Dist. Ct. R. 13(a)).
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Oklahoma grants summary judgment when the pleadings, discovery and disclosure materials, and any affidavits show no genuine issue as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law; Rule 13 restates this as no substantial controversy as to any material fact (12 O.S. § 2056(C)).
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The motion must include the movant's concise written statement of the material facts it contends are undisputed, numbered with citations to the supporting evidentiary material, plus a statement of argument and authority; Rule 13 calls this a concise written statement rather than a separate statement, but it works the same way (Okla. Dist. Ct. R. 13(a)).
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An Oklahoma motion for summary judgment is not automatically granted just because the other side fails to respond. Facts the opponent does not specifically controvert are deemed admitted, but the court must still find that the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law before granting the motion (12 O.S. § 2056(C); Okla. Dist. Ct. R. 13(b)).
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Rule 13(a) also lets a party seek summary disposition of any issue on the merits short of full summary judgment, and a court may grant an interlocutory summary judgment on liability alone even if damages remain disputed (12 O.S. § 2056(D)). This page covers only a civil motion for summary judgment in Oklahoma state district court; it does not cover a motion to dismiss, a motion to set aside a default judgment, or a federal case, which follows Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56.
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a Motion for Summary Judgment in Oklahoma, 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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Oklahoma Requirements for Motion for Summary Judgment
15-Day Response Deadline With 45-Day Floor From Summons
The party opposing an Oklahoma motion for summary judgment must file a concise written statement of disputed facts within 15 calendar days after service of the motion, but that statement is never due earlier than 45 calendar days after service of the first summons by, or upon, that party (Okla. Dist. Ct. R. 13(b)).
20-Day Filing Cutoff Before Trial
If the case has been set for trial, an Oklahoma motion for summary judgment must be served at least 20 calendar days before the trial date, unless a scheduling order sets an earlier deadline (Okla. Dist. Ct. R. 13(a)).
No Hearing Required
Rule 13(f) lets an Oklahoma court decide a motion for summary judgment on the papers without holding any hearing, and the court must notify the parties of its ruling in writing by mail or email when it does so.
Earliest Filing by a Claiming Party
A party claiming relief may move for summary judgment 20 calendar days after commencement of the action, or as soon as the opposing party serves its own summary judgment motion; a party defending against a claim may move at any time (12 O.S. § 2056(A)-(B)).
Statutory Standard Under 12 O.S. Section 2056(C)
Summary judgment is granted when the pleadings, discovery and disclosure materials, and any affidavits show no genuine issue as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law; Rule 13 restates this as no substantial controversy as to any material fact.
Concise Written Statement of Undisputed Material Facts
The motion must be accompanied by a concise written statement of the material facts the movant contends are undisputed, numbered and citing the supporting evidentiary material; facts the opponent does not specifically controvert are deemed admitted for purposes of the motion (Okla. Dist. Ct. R. 13(a)-(b)).
Summary Disposition of Any Issue on the Merits
Rule 13(a) lets a party move for summary disposition of any issue on the merits as an alternative to full summary judgment, without requiring the motion to completely dispose of a claim or defense.
Interlocutory Summary Judgment on Liability Alone
12 O.S. § 2056(D) allows the court to render an interlocutory summary judgment on liability alone, even if a genuine issue remains as to the amount of damages.
Denial Orders Are Interlocutory and Unreviewable Until Final Judgment
Rule 13(e) makes an order denying summary judgment or summary disposition interlocutory and not reviewable on appeal until final judgment, while a granted summary judgment or appealable summary disposition gets accelerated appellate review under Rule 13(h) and Oklahoma Supreme Court Rule 1.36; in a multi-party or multi-claim case, the judgment must also satisfy 12 O.S. § 994 certification to be immediately appealable.