How long does a party have to respond to a Pennsylvania motion for summary judgment?

No later than 30 days after service of the motion, the adverse party must file a response, which may identify record evidence that controverts the movant's evidence or challenges a witness's credibility, or evidence establishing facts the motion says are missing, or may explain why evidence cannot yet be produced (Pa. R. Civ. P. 1035.3(a)-(b)); this 30-day period cannot be shortened or lengthened by any local rule (Pa. R. Civ. P. 1035.3(a); Pa. R. Civ. P. 239.7).

I was served with a Pennsylvania motion for summary judgment. When is my response due?

Your response is due no later than 30 days after service of the motion. The rule text does not say whether those are calendar or court days, so calculate conservatively and confirm the deadline with the county's Local Rule 1035.2(a) or the assigned judge (Pa. R. Civ. P. 1035.3(a)).

Does Pennsylvania set a statewide notice period before a summary judgment hearing?

No. Pennsylvania Rule of Civil Procedure 239.7 requires each county to adopt its own Local Rule 1035.2(a) governing how summary judgment motions are scheduled, argued, and decided; there is no single statewide notice period or hearing requirement in Pa. R. Civ. P. 1035.1 et seq.

Does Pennsylvania require a separate statement of undisputed material facts for summary judgment?

No. Unlike some states, Pennsylvania has no statewide separate-statement requirement and no statewide page limit for summary judgment briefs. The supporting record can include pleadings, depositions, interrogatory answers, admissions, affidavits, and qualifying expert reports (Pa. R. Civ. P. 1035.1).

If the other side does not respond to a Pennsylvania motion for summary judgment, is it automatically granted?

No. Pa. R. Civ. P. 1035.3(d) provides that summary judgment may be entered against a party who does not respond; the rule says judgment may be entered, not that it must be, so a summary judgment motion is not automatically granted just because it is unopposed.

What is Pennsylvania's Nanty-Glo rule?

Pennsylvania case law holds that oral testimony of the moving party or the moving party's witnesses, even through an affidavit or deposition, is generally not enough by itself to establish the absence of a genuine issue of material fact, even if uncontradicted, because the credibility of live testimony is for the jury to decide (Official Note to Pa. R. Civ. P. 1035.2 and 1035.3(a)(1)).

Can a party get partial summary judgment in Pennsylvania?

Yes. Partial summary judgment, interlocutory in character, may be entered on one or more issues of liability, defense, or damages. If judgment is denied or not entered on the whole case, Rule 1035.5 lets the court specify which material facts are established without controversy for use at the later trial.

Does this page cover a motion to dismiss or a motion for summary judgment in federal court in Pennsylvania?

No. This page covers a civil motion for summary judgment in a Pennsylvania state trial court under Rule 1035.2. A separate motion to dismiss page covers testing a complaint before answering it, a separate motion to set aside a default page covers undoing a default judgment, and a federal case follows Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56, not Rule 1035.2, and is outside the scope of this page.

Pennsylvania Motion for Summary Judgment

Q: Is there a deadline for filing a Pennsylvania motion for summary judgment before trial?

There is no statewide cutoff. A motion may be filed only after the pleadings between the parties to the motion are closed, and otherwise only within such time as will not unreasonably delay trial; the actual scheduling deadline comes from the county's own Local Rule 1035.2(a) (Pa. R. Civ. P. 1035.2; Pa. R. Civ. P. 239.7).

Q: What standard does a Pennsylvania court use to decide a motion for summary judgment?

Under Pa. R. Civ. P. 1035.2, the court grants summary judgment if there is no genuine issue of any material fact as to a necessary element of a claim or defense, or if an adverse party who bears the burden of proof at trial has failed to produce evidence of facts essential to its case. The rule was last amended effective August 1, 2016, adding expert-report language to the first ground, and has not been amended since.

Pennsylvania fixes one statewide deadline that no local rule may shorten or lengthen, a response due 30 days after service of the motion, but leaves the notice period, hearing procedure, and page limits to each county's own Local Rule 1035.2(a).

Find out where you stand in Pennsylvania

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Introduction

Pennsylvania Rule of Civil Procedure 1035.1 through 1035.5 sets no statewide notice period before a summary judgment hearing and does not even require a hearing at all: Rule 239.7 requires each county to adopt its own Local Rule 1035.2(a) governing how motions for summary judgment are scheduled, argued, and decided, so the notice and hearing procedure that applies depends on the county, not a single statewide rule. What the statewide rules do fix, and what Rule 239.7's Official Note expressly forbids any local rule from shortening or lengthening, is the response deadline: once a motion for summary judgment is served, the adverse party must file a response within 30 days after service of the motion, and the rule text itself does not say whether those are calendar or court days (Pa. R. Civ. P. 1035.3(a)). There is also no statewide cutoff for how late a motion may be filed before trial; a motion may be filed only after the pleadings between the parties to the motion are closed, and otherwise only within such time as will not unreasonably delay trial, with the actual scheduling deadline set by each county's own Local Rule 1035.2(a) (Pa. R. Civ. P. 1035.2; Pa. R. Civ. P. 239.7). The standard itself was last amended June 28, 2016, effective August 1, 2016, adding expert-report language to subdivision (1), and it has not been amended since. Under Rule 1035.2, summary judgment is granted if there is no genuine issue of any material fact as to a necessary element of a claim or defense, or if an adverse party who bears the burden of proof at trial has failed to produce evidence of facts essential to its case. The motion's supporting record can include pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, admissions, and affidavits or qualifying expert reports (Pa. R. Civ. P. 1035.1); any affidavit must be made on personal knowledge, set out facts that would be admissible in evidence, and show the signer is competent to testify (Pa. R. Civ. P. 1035.4). Pennsylvania has no statewide requirement for a separate statement of undisputed material facts and no statewide page limit for summary judgment briefs; any such requirement, along with brief-filing and paragraph-numbering rules, comes from the county's own Local Rule 1035.2(a). Pennsylvania has no separately named no-evidence motion like Texas's; Rule 1035.2 combines both the traditional no-genuine-issue motion and a failure-of-proof motion against the party with the burden of proof into the same rule. Partial summary judgment is available on one or more issues of liability, defense, or damages, and if judgment is denied or not entered on the whole case, Rule 1035.5 lets the court specify which material facts are established without controversy for use at the later trial. Pennsylvania's Nanty-Glo rule also applies: oral testimony of the moving party or the moving party's witnesses, even through an affidavit or deposition, is generally not enough by itself to win summary judgment, even if uncontradicted, because the credibility of live testimony is for the jury to decide. This page covers a civil motion for summary judgment in a Pennsylvania 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 page; and a case in federal court follows Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56, not Rule 1035.2, 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, though Rule 1035.3(d) allows the court to enter judgment against a party who files no response at all. Attorney review is available before you file or respond.

Key Things to Know

1
Pennsylvania sets no statewide notice period or hearing procedure for a motion for summary judgment; each county adopts its own Local Rule 1035.2(a) under Rule 239.7 for scheduling, argument, and decision. The one fixed, non-waivable deadline is the response: 30 days after service of the motion, a period no local rule may shorten or lengthen (Pa. R. Civ. P. 1035.3(a); Pa. R. Civ. P. 239.7).
2
If you were served with a Pennsylvania motion for summary judgment, your 30-day response clock starts running from the date of service, not from any hearing notice; your response may identify record evidence controverting the movant's evidence or challenging a witness's credibility, or evidence establishing facts the motion says are missing, or it may explain why you cannot yet produce evidence and what you propose to do about it (Pa. R. Civ. P. 1035.3(a)-(b)).
3
A Pennsylvania motion for summary judgment is not automatically granted just because the adverse party fails to respond; Rule 1035.3(d) provides only that summary judgment may be entered against a party who does not respond.
4
A Pennsylvania motion for summary judgment may be filed only after the pleadings between the parties to the motion are closed; there is no statewide cutoff for how close to trial it may be filed, only that it not unreasonably delay trial, with the county's Local Rule 1035.2(a) setting the actual scheduling deadline (Pa. R. Civ. P. 1035.2; Pa. R. Civ. P. 239.7).
5
Rule 1035.2 grants summary judgment if there is no genuine issue of any material fact as to a necessary element of a claim or defense, or if an adverse party who bears the burden of proof at trial has failed to produce evidence of essential facts; the rule was last amended effective August 1, 2016, adding expert-report language, and has not been amended since (Pa. R. Civ. P. 1035.2).
6
Pennsylvania has no statewide separate statement of undisputed material facts and no statewide page limit; the supporting record can include pleadings, depositions, interrogatory answers, admissions, affidavits, and qualifying expert reports, and any affidavit must be on personal knowledge and show the signer is competent to testify (Pa. R. Civ. P. 1035.1; Pa. R. Civ. P. 1035.4).
7
Pennsylvania's Nanty-Glo rule means uncontradicted oral testimony of the moving party or the moving party's witnesses, even by affidavit or deposition, is generally not enough by itself to win summary judgment, because credibility is for the jury; partial summary judgment on one or more issues is available (Official Note to Pa. R. Civ. P. 1035.2). This page covers a state-court motion for summary judgment only, not a motion to dismiss, not a motion to set aside a default judgment, and not 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 Pennsylvania, 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

Customize your Motion for Summary Judgment Template with DocDraft

[CASE NUMBER]

[NAME OF PENNSYLVANIA STATE TRIAL COURT] [COUNTY] COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

[PLAINTIFF NAME], Plaintiff, v. [DEFENDANT NAME], Defendant.

No. [CASE NUMBER]

MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT [IF APPLICABLE: OR PARTIAL SUMMARY JUDGMENT]

[NAME OF MOVING PARTY], [PLAINTIFF OR DEFENDANT] in this action, moves for summary judgment under Pennsylvania Rule of Civil Procedure 1035.2 [IF APPLICABLE: as to the claim, defense, or issue described as follows: [DESCRIPTION OF THE CLAIM, DEFENSE, OR ISSUE ON WHICH JUDGMENT IS SOUGHT]], and states:

I. PLEADINGS CLOSED

The pleadings between the parties to this motion are closed, and this motion is filed within such time as will not unreasonably delay trial, as required by Pa. R. Civ. P. 1035.2.

II. GROUNDS

There is no genuine issue of any material fact as to a necessary element of [DESCRIPTION OF THE CAUSE OF ACTION OR DEFENSE], and Movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law under Pa. R. Civ. P. 1035.2(1).
[IF APPLICABLE: The adverse party bears the burden of proof at trial on [DESCRIPTION OF THE ESSENTIAL FACT OR ELEMENT] and has failed to produce evidence of facts essential to its cause of action or defense, under Pa. R. Civ. P. 1035.2(2).]

III. THE RECORD

This motion is supported by the following record under Pa. R. Civ. P. 1035.1: [PLEADINGS, DEPOSITIONS, ANSWERS TO INTERROGATORIES, ADMISSIONS, AFFIDAVITS, OR QUALIFYING EXPERT REPORTS RELIED ON, EACH IDENTIFIED AND ATTACHED].
[IF APPLICABLE: The attached affidavit of [AFFIANT NAME] is made on personal knowledge, sets forth facts that would be admissible in evidence, and shows the affiant is competent to testify to the matters stated, as required by Pa. R. Civ. P. 1035.4.]

IV. MEMORANDUM

Movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law on the record identified above for the following reasons: [LEGAL ARGUMENT AND AUTHORITY].

V. RELIEF REQUESTED

WHEREFORE, Movant respectfully requests that the Court enter [IF APPLICABLE: partial] summary judgment in Movant's favor [IF APPLICABLE: as to the claim, defense, or issue described above], and grant such other relief as the Court deems just.

[SIGNATURE] [NAME OF ATTORNEY OR PARTY] [ADDRESS] [CITY, PENNSYLVANIA ZIP] [PHONE] [EMAIL] [PENNSYLVANIA ATTORNEY ID NUMBER, IF AN ATTORNEY]

NOTICE

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that this Motion for Summary Judgment will be argued or submitted on [DATE, TIME, AND MANNER OF ARGUMENT OR SUBMISSION SET UNDER THE COUNTY'S LOCAL RULE 1035.2(a)]. A response is due no later than 30 days after service of this motion, as required by Pa. R. Civ. P. 1035.3(a).

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I certify that on [DATE OF SERVICE], a true and correct copy of this Motion for Summary Judgment and Notice was served on [NAME OF EACH OTHER PARTY OR COUNSEL OF RECORD] by [METHOD OF SERVICE], and that under Pa. R. Civ. P. 1035.3(a), any response to this motion is due no later than 30 days after that date of service.

[SIGNATURE] [NAME]

Pennsylvania Requirements for Motion for Summary Judgment

30-Day Response Deadline Cannot Be Altered by Local Rule
The adverse party must file a response within 30 days after service of the motion for summary judgment, a period Rule 239.7's Official Note expressly forbids any local rule from shortening or lengthening (Pa. R. Civ. P. 1035.3(a); Pa. R. Civ. P. 239.7).
No Statewide Notice Period or Hearing Requirement
Pennsylvania sets no statewide notice period before a summary judgment hearing and does not require a hearing at all; Rule 239.7 requires each county to adopt its own Local Rule 1035.2(a) governing scheduling, argument, and decision (Pa. R. Civ. P. 239.7).
Motion Filed Only After Pleadings Between the Parties Are Closed
A motion for summary judgment may be filed only after the pleadings between the parties to the motion are closed, and otherwise only within such time as will not unreasonably delay trial (Pa. R. Civ. P. 1035.2).
Two Grounds Combined in a Single Rule
Rule 1035.2 combines the traditional no-genuine-issue motion, subdivision (1), and a failure-of-proof motion against the party bearing the burden of proof at trial, subdivision (2), into a single rule rather than two separately named motions (Pa. R. Civ. P. 1035.2).
No Statewide Separate Statement or Page Limit
Pennsylvania has no statewide requirement for a separate statement of undisputed material facts and no statewide page limit for summary judgment briefs; any such requirement comes from the county's own Local Rule 1035.2(a) (Pa. R. Civ. P. 1035.1; Pa. R. Civ. P. 239.7).
Affidavits Must Be on Personal Knowledge
Supporting and opposing affidavits must be made on personal knowledge, set forth facts that would be admissible in evidence, and show affirmatively that the signer is competent to testify to the matters stated (Pa. R. Civ. P. 1035.4).
Nanty-Glo Rule Limits a Movant's Oral Testimony
Oral testimony of the moving party or the moving party's witnesses, even through an affidavit or deposition, is generally not enough by itself to establish the absence of a genuine issue of material fact, even if uncontradicted, because credibility of live testimony is for the jury (Official Note to Pa. R. Civ. P. 1035.2).
Partial Summary Judgment on One or More Issues
Partial summary judgment, interlocutory in character, may be entered on one or more issues of liability, defense, or damages; if judgment is not entered on the whole case, Rule 1035.5 lets the court specify which material facts are established without controversy for trial (Official Note to Pa. R. Civ. P. 1035.2; Pa. R. Civ. P. 1035.5).
Judgment May Be Entered Against a Non-Responding Party
Rule 1035.3(d) provides that summary judgment may be entered against a party who does not respond; the rule permits, but does not require, judgment, so a motion is not automatically granted merely because it is unopposed (Pa. R. Civ. P. 1035.3(d)).

Find out where you stand in Pennsylvania

Introduction

Key Things to Know

Key decisions before you file

Customize your Motion for Summary Judgment Template with DocDraft

Pennsylvania Requirements for Motion for Summary Judgment

30-Day Response Deadline Cannot Be Altered by Local Rule

No Statewide Notice Period or Hearing Requirement

Motion Filed Only After Pleadings Between the Parties Are Closed

Two Grounds Combined in a Single Rule

No Statewide Separate Statement or Page Limit

Affidavits Must Be on Personal Knowledge

Nanty-Glo Rule Limits a Movant's Oral Testimony

Partial Summary Judgment on One or More Issues

Judgment May Be Entered Against a Non-Responding Party

Frequently Asked Questions