How long does a party have to object to a Rhode Island motion for summary judgment?

The party who was served must file an objection, along with any supporting memoranda, affidavits, and documentation, within 30 calendar days of the filing of the motion, under the Superior Court's Civil Motion Calendar Protocols. A reply from the moving party is then due within 10 calendar days of the filing of the objection.

Does the Rhode Island summary judgment deadline run from the filing date or the hearing date?

It runs from the filing date. Rule 56(c) itself only says opposing affidavits may be served as late as one day before the hearing, but the statewide Civil Motion Calendar Protocol, effective June 26, 2023, instead controls actual practice and sets the objection deadline at 30 calendar days after the motion is filed. Anyone relying only on the bare rule text risks miscalculating the deadline.

Can a party get partial summary judgment in Rhode Island?

Yes. Partial summary judgment is built directly into Rule 56 itself rather than treated as a separate procedure: a party may move on all or any part of a claim, counterclaim, or cross-claim, and Rule 56(c) allows an interlocutory summary judgment on the issue of liability alone even while the amount of damages remains genuinely disputed for trial.

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

No. The court must still find that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law before granting the motion, whether or not the other side files an objection.

What must a Rhode Island summary judgment motion include?

The motion must state its grounds with particularity, and is typically supported by a memorandum of law formatted under Super. Ct. R.P. 1.6, affidavits made on personal knowledge under Rule 56(e), and the omnibus assignment form noting the assigned hearing date. Two hard copies of all filed motion papers and principal case law must also be delivered to the Motion Calendar Clerk as bench copies.

Does this page cover a motion for summary judgment in federal court in Rhode Island?

No. This page covers a civil motion for summary judgment in Rhode Island Superior Court under Rule 56. A motion for summary judgment in federal court, including the federal District of Rhode Island, follows Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56, which has different deadlines and requirements.

Rhode Island Motion for Summary Judgment

Q: How soon after a Rhode Island summary judgment motion is filed will it be heard?

Hearings are calendared by the county Motion Calendar Clerk, not self-noticed by the moving party, and a minimum of 60 days is required from the date of filing to the hearing date, so as to allow time for the objection and reply.

Q: Does Rhode Island require a separate statement of undisputed material facts for summary judgment?

No. Rhode Island Superior Court practice does not require a standalone separate statement of undisputed facts. Federal court is outside the scope of this page.

Rhode Island runs the summary judgment response clock forward from the date the motion is filed, not backward from a hearing date: an objection is due 30 calendar days after filing, a reply is due 10 calendar days after that, and the Motion Calendar Clerk will not set a hearing sooner than 60 days after filing.

Find out where you stand in Rhode Island

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Introduction

A Rhode Island motion for summary judgment is governed by Super. Ct. R. Civ. P. 56. A claimant, counterclaimant, or cross-claimant may move at any time after 20 days from the commencement of the action, or earlier if the adverse party has already served its own summary judgment motion; a defending party may move at any time, with no waiting period (Rule 56(a), (b)). The rule's own text requires the motion and notice of hearing to be served at least 10 calendar days before the hearing (Rule 56(c); counted under Rule 6(a), with intermediate weekends and holidays included), but a statewide Civil Motion Calendar Protocol, effective June 26, 2023, controls how the deadlines actually run in practice: hearings are calendared by the county Motion Calendar Clerk, not self-noticed by the moving party, and a minimum of 60 days is required from the date of filing to the hearing date. Under that same protocol, the party who was served must file an objection, with all supporting memoranda, affidavits, and documentation, within 30 calendar days of the filing of the motion, and the moving party may file a reply within 10 calendar days of the filing of the objection; no further briefing is permitted without leave of court. This is a meaningful departure from the rule's own text, which ties the opposition to the hearing date and lets opposing affidavits be served as late as one day before the hearing; the 2023 protocol instead measures forward from filing and, in practice, controls. The court must grant judgment if the pleadings, depositions, documents, electronically stored information, interrogatory answers, admissions, and affidavits on file show there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law (Rule 56(c)); an adverse party opposing a properly supported motion may not rest on the mere allegations or denials of its own pleading (Rule 56(e)). Required papers include the motion stating its grounds with particularity (Rule 7(b)(1)), a memorandum of law in the format set by Super. Ct. R.P. 1.6, supporting affidavits made on personal knowledge (Rule 56(e)), the omnibus assignment form noting the assigned hearing date, the objection papers, and two hard copies of all filed papers and principal case law delivered to the Motion Calendar Clerk as bench copies. Rhode Island does not require a separate statement of undisputed material facts. There is no separate summary adjudication track or no-evidence motion; partial summary judgment is built directly into Rule 56 itself, including an interlocutory judgment on liability alone while damages remain genuinely disputed for trial, and the court may enter an order under Rule 56(d) specifying which facts are not genuinely controverted so they are deemed established at trial. Both the moving party and the party who was served need to track these deadlines closely. This page covers a civil motion for summary judgment in Rhode Island Superior Court. It does not cover a motion to dismiss, see DocDraft's motion to dismiss page, or a motion to set aside a default judgment, see DocDraft's motion to set aside a default page, and it does not cover federal court, where a motion for summary judgment follows Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56 rather than this state rule. 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 does not respond. Attorney review is available before you file or respond.

Key Things to Know

1
A Rhode Island claimant may move for summary judgment 20 days after the case begins, or sooner if the other side has already moved; a defending party may move at any time. Once filed, an objection is due 30 calendar days after filing, a reply is due 10 calendar days after the objection, and the Motion Calendar Clerk will not set a hearing sooner than 60 days after filing (Rule 56(a), (b); Civil Motion Calendar Protocols - All Counties, eff. 6/26/2023).
2
If you were served with a Rhode Island summary judgment motion, your objection, with any supporting memoranda, affidavits, and documentation, is due 30 calendar days after the motion was filed, not measured backward from a hearing date; do not wait for a hearing notice to calculate your deadline.
3
Rule 56(c)'s own text only requires 10 calendar days' notice before a hearing and lets opposing affidavits be served as late as one day before the hearing, but the 2023 statewide Civil Motion Calendar Protocol instead controls actual practice, tying the objection and reply deadlines to the filing date rather than the hearing date.
4
The court must 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 before granting the motion (Rule 56(c)); an adverse party opposing a properly supported motion may not rest on the mere allegations or denials of its own pleading (Rule 56(e)).
5
Required papers include the motion stating its grounds with particularity, a memorandum of law formatted under Super. Ct. R.P. 1.6, supporting affidavits on personal knowledge, the omnibus assignment form noting the hearing date, and two hard copies of all filed motion papers and principal case law delivered to the Motion Calendar Clerk as bench copies.
6
Rhode Island does not require a separate statement of undisputed material facts for summary judgment. Partial summary judgment is built directly into Rule 56 itself, including an interlocutory judgment on liability alone while the amount of damages remains genuinely disputed for trial.
7
A Rhode Island motion for summary judgment is not automatically granted just because the other side does not respond; the court must still find no genuine issue of material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. This page covers only a Rhode Island state-court motion for summary judgment; it does not cover a motion to dismiss, a motion to set aside a default judgment, or federal court, which follows Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56.

Key decisions before you file

Before you file a Motion for Summary Judgment in Rhode Island, 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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C.A. No. [CASE NUMBER]

STATE OF RHODE ISLAND SUPERIOR COURT [COUNTY] COUNTY

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

MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT [IF APPLICABLE: OR PARTIAL SUMMARY JUDGMENT AS TO LIABILITY]

[NAME OF MOVING PARTY], [PLAINTIFF OR DEFENDANT] in this action, moves under Rule 56 of the Superior Court Rules of Civil Procedure for [IF APPLICABLE: partial] summary judgment [IF APPLICABLE: on the issue of liability alone, or as to DESCRIPTION OF THE CLAIM, COUNTERCLAIM, CROSS-CLAIM, OR PART], and states the following grounds with particularity under Rule 7(b)(1):

GROUNDS

The pleadings, depositions, documents, electronically stored information, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits filed with this motion, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that Movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law under Rule 56(c).
[IF APPLICABLE: A genuine issue remains only as to the amount of damages, and Movant seeks an interlocutory summary judgment on the issue of liability alone under Rule 56(c).]

SUPPORTING AFFIDAVITS

This motion is supported by the affidavit of [AFFIANT NAME], made on personal knowledge, setting forth facts that would be admissible in evidence and showing the affiant is competent to testify to the matters stated, as required by Rule 56(e). Sworn or certified copies of [DOCUMENTS REFERENCED IN THE AFFIDAVIT] are attached.

UNDISPUTED MATERIAL FACTS

The following facts are not genuinely disputed and support judgment as a matter of law: [NUMBERED STATEMENT OF EACH UNDISPUTED MATERIAL FACT, WITH A CITATION TO THE SUPPORTING AFFIDAVIT OR RECORD MATERIAL].

MEMORANDUM OF LAW

In accordance with Super. Ct. R.P. 1.6, Movant submits the following brief statement of the case, the questions raised, and the points and authorities relied on: [LEGAL ARGUMENT AND AUTHORITY SHOWING MOVANT IS ENTITLED TO JUDGMENT AS A MATTER OF LAW].

RELIEF REQUESTED

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

[SIGNATURE] [NAME OF ATTORNEY OR PARTY] [ADDRESS] [CITY, RHODE ISLAND ZIP] [PHONE] [EMAIL] [RHODE ISLAND BAR NUMBER, IF AN ATTORNEY]

OMNIBUS ASSIGNMENT FORM

The omnibus assignment form noting the hearing date assigned by the Motion Calendar Clerk is filed with this motion as a separate paper under the Superior Court's Civil Motion Calendar Protocols.

NOTICE OF HEARING

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that this motion will be heard before the Court on [HEARING DATE], at [HEARING TIME], at [LOCATION OF HEARING, OR REMOTE PLATFORM IF THE COURT HAS AGREED TO A REMOTE HEARING], not less than 10 calendar days after service of this notice, as required by Rule 56(c).

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I certify that on [DATE OF SERVICE], a true and correct copy of this Motion for Summary Judgment, supporting affidavits, and Notice of Hearing was served on [NAME OF EACH OTHER PARTY OR COUNSEL OF RECORD] by [METHOD OF SERVICE], and that two hard copies of all filed motion papers and principal case law were delivered to the Motion Calendar Clerk as bench copies under the Civil Motion Calendar Protocols.

[SIGNATURE] [NAME]

Rhode Island Requirements for Motion for Summary Judgment

30-Day Objection Deadline Runs From Filing
The party who was served must file an objection, with supporting memoranda, affidavits, and documentation, within 30 calendar days of the filing of the motion, under the Civil Motion Calendar Protocols - All Counties, effective June 26, 2023.
10-Day Reply Deadline After Objection Is Filed
The moving party may file a reply within 10 calendar days of the filing of the objection; no further briefing is permitted without leave of court (Civil Motion Calendar Protocols - All Counties).
Hearings Calendared at Least 60 Days After Filing
Hearings on a motion for summary judgment are calendared by the county Motion Calendar Clerk, not self-noticed by the moving party, and a minimum of 60 days is required from the date of filing to the hearing date.
10-Day Hearing Notice Under Rule 56(c)
Rule 56(c) requires the motion and notice of hearing to be served at least 10 calendar days before the time fixed for the hearing. The period is counted under Rule 6(a), so weekends and holidays inside the period are not skipped.
Earliest Filing: 20 Days After Commencement for Claimants
A claimant, counterclaimant, or cross-claimant may move for summary judgment at any time after 20 days from the commencement of the action, or earlier if the adverse party has already served its own summary judgment motion; a defending party may move at any time (Rule 56(a), (b)).
No Statewide Separate Statement of Undisputed Facts
Rhode Island Superior Court practice does not require a standalone separate statement of undisputed material facts for a motion for summary judgment.
Partial Summary Judgment Built Into Rule 56
Rule 56(a) through (c) let a party move on all or any part of a claim, counterclaim, or cross-claim, and allow an interlocutory summary judgment on the issue of liability alone even while the amount of damages remains genuinely disputed for trial.
Omnibus Assignment Form and Bench Copies Required
The moving party must submit an omnibus assignment form noting the assigned hearing date, and must deliver two hard copies of all filed motion papers and principal case law to the Motion Calendar Clerk as bench copies (Civil Motion Calendar Protocols - All Counties).
Memorandum of Law Format Under Super. Ct. R.P. 1.6
A supporting memorandum of law must follow Super. Ct. R.P. 1.6, including a brief statement of the case, the questions raised, and the points and authorities relied on.

Find out where you stand in Rhode Island

Introduction

Key Things to Know

Key decisions before you file

Customize your Motion for Summary Judgment Template with DocDraft

Rhode Island Requirements for Motion for Summary Judgment

30-Day Objection Deadline Runs From Filing

10-Day Reply Deadline After Objection Is Filed

Hearings Calendared at Least 60 Days After Filing

10-Day Hearing Notice Under Rule 56(c)

Earliest Filing: 20 Days After Commencement for Claimants

No Statewide Separate Statement of Undisputed Facts

Partial Summary Judgment Built Into Rule 56

Omnibus Assignment Form and Bench Copies Required

Memorandum of Law Format Under Super. Ct. R.P. 1.6

Frequently Asked Questions