Utah Motion for Summary Judgment
Utah detaches every summary judgment deadline from a hearing date: once the motion is filed, the opposing party's response is due 14 calendar days later, a reply follows 7 calendar days after that, and no hearing is set when the motion is filed, though the court may hold one and must grant a party's request for one on a Rule 56 motion, all under Rule 7 as substantially rewritten effective November 1, 2025.
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Introduction
A Utah motion for summary judgment departs from the usual pattern of counting backward from a hearing date, because Utah Rule of Civil Procedure 7 does not schedule a hearing when the motion is filed at all. A party seeking to recover on a claim, counterclaim, cross-claim, or declaratory judgment may move for summary judgment only after the adverse party serves its own motion for summary judgment, or after 21 calendar days from commencement of the action; a party defending against a claim may move for summary judgment at any time (Utah R. Civ. P. 56(b)). Unless the court orders otherwise, the motion must be filed no later than 28 calendar days after the close of all discovery (Utah R. Civ. P. 56(b)). Once the motion is filed, the opposing party, the nonmovant, may file a memorandum opposing it within 14 calendar days after the motion is filed, and the movant may then file a reply memorandum within 7 calendar days after the opposition is filed, both counted forward from the prior filing rather than backward from any hearing (Utah R. Civ. P. 7(d)(1), 7(e)(1)). No hearing is set when the motion is filed; the court may hold a hearing on any motion, and on a Rule 56 motion it must grant a party's request for a hearing unless it finds the motion or opposition frivolous or the issue already authoritatively decided (Utah R. Civ. P. 7(h)); once briefing is complete, either party must also file a Request to Submit for Decision, because if no party does, the motion will not be submitted for decision at all (Utah R. Civ. P. 7(g)). The court shall grant summary judgment if the moving party shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law (Utah R. Civ. P. 56(a)). Rule 56 was repealed and reenacted effective November 1, 2015 to adopt the federal Rule 56 framework without changing the substantive Utah law, and the briefing mechanics that Rule 56 incorporates by reference follow Rule 7, whose current text, including the page and word limits and the filing-forward timing described above, took effect November 1, 2025. Required papers include the motion combined with its supporting memorandum in a single document, a statement of material facts claimed not to be genuinely disputed, separately numbered and cited to the record, and supporting evidence such as depositions, documents, electronically stored information, affidavits, declarations, stipulations, admissions, or interrogatory answers (Utah R. Civ. P. 7(b), 7(c)(6), 56(a)(1), 56(c)(1)(A)). A dispositive motion must also carry a bilingual Notice to Responding Party with bold caution language (Utah R. Civ. P. 7(c)(2)-(3)). A motion for relief under Rule 56, and any memorandum opposing it, is limited to 25 pages or 9,000 words, and a reply memorandum is limited to 15 pages or 5,400 words (Utah R. Civ. P. 7(q)(1)). The opposing memorandum must include a verbatim restatement of each of the movant's facts that is disputed, with the grounds for the dispute; a fact not disputed this way is deemed admitted for purposes of the motion (Utah R. Civ. P. 56(a)(2), 56(a)(4)). Utah has no separate summary adjudication motion or Texas-style no-evidence motion: Rule 56(a) itself lets a party move for summary judgment on an entire claim or defense, or on part of one, and Rule 56(f) lets the court grant summary judgment for a nonmovant, on grounds not raised, or on its own after notice and a reasonable time to respond. This page covers a civil motion for summary judgment in Utah state trial court. If you are asking a 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. Both the party filing the motion and the party who received it need to track these deadlines carefully. Attorney review is available before you file or respond.
Key Things to Know
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A Utah motion for summary judgment has no advance notice-of-hearing period: once the motion is filed, the opposing party's response is due 14 calendar days later, the movant's reply is due 7 calendar days after that, and the motion must otherwise be filed no later than 28 calendar days after the close of all discovery, unless the court orders otherwise (Utah R. Civ. P. 7(d)(1), 7(e)(1), 56(b)).
- 2
If you were served with a Utah motion for summary judgment, your 14-calendar-day response clock starts running from the date the motion was filed, not from any hearing notice, and your opposition must verbatim restate each of the movant's facts you dispute along with your grounds for disputing it; a fact you do not dispute this way is deemed admitted for purposes of the motion (Utah R. Civ. P. 7(d)(1), 56(a)(2), 56(a)(4)).
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No hearing is scheduled when a Utah summary judgment motion is filed. The court may hold a hearing on any motion, and on a Rule 56 motion it must grant a party's request for a hearing unless it finds the motion or opposition frivolous or the issue already authoritatively decided; once briefing closes, either party must also file a Request to Submit for Decision, or the motion will not be submitted for a decision at all (Utah R. Civ. P. 7(g), 7(h)).
- 4
The court shall grant summary judgment if the moving party shows there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law (Utah R. Civ. P. 56(a)). That standard comes from Rule 56 as repealed and reenacted in 2015, and the briefing mechanics Rule 56 incorporates follow Rule 7, whose current text, including the page and word limits and the filing-forward timing described above, took effect November 1, 2025.
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Required papers include the motion combined with its supporting memorandum in a single document, a statement of material facts claimed not to be genuinely disputed, separately numbered and cited to the record, and supporting evidence such as depositions, documents, electronically stored information, affidavits, declarations, stipulations, admissions, or interrogatory answers (Utah R. Civ. P. 7(b), 7(c)(6), 56(a)(1), 56(c)(1)(A)). The motion and any opposition are limited to 25 pages or 9,000 words, and a reply is limited to 15 pages or 5,400 words (Utah R. Civ. P. 7(q)(1)).
- 6
Utah has no separate summary adjudication motion and no Texas-style no-evidence motion. Rule 56(a) itself lets a party move for summary judgment on an entire claim or defense, or on part of one, and Rule 56(f) lets the court grant summary judgment for a nonmovant, on grounds not raised, or on its own after notice and a reasonable time to respond (Utah R. Civ. P. 56(a), 56(f)).
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This page covers only a Utah state-court motion for summary judgment: to challenge a complaint's sufficiency, see DocDraft's motion to dismiss page; 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 rule, and is outside the scope of this page.
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a Motion for Summary Judgment in Utah, 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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Utah Requirements for Motion for Summary Judgment
14-Calendar-Day Response Deadline Runs From Filing
The nonmoving party may file a memorandum opposing a motion for summary judgment within 14 calendar days after the motion is filed, counted forward from filing rather than backward from a hearing date (Utah R. Civ. P. 7(d)(1)).
7-Calendar-Day Reply Deadline
The movant may file a reply memorandum within 7 calendar days after the opposition memorandum is filed, limited to rebuttal of new matters raised in the opposition (Utah R. Civ. P. 7(e)(1)).
Hearing Mandatory on Request for Rule 56 Motions
Utah does not schedule a hearing when a summary judgment motion is filed; the court may hold a hearing on any motion, and must grant a party's request for a hearing on a Rule 56 motion unless it finds the motion or opposition frivolous or the issue already authoritatively decided (Utah R. Civ. P. 7(h)).
Request to Submit for Decision Required for a Ruling
Once briefing on the motion is complete, either party must file a Request to Submit for Decision; if no party files one, the motion will not be submitted for a decision (Utah R. Civ. P. 7(g)).
Filing Window Varies by Party; Cutoff 28 Days After Discovery Close
A party seeking to recover on a claim may move for summary judgment after service of a motion for summary judgment by the adverse party or after 21 calendar days from commencement; a defending party may move at any time; the motion must be filed no later than 28 calendar days after the close of all discovery unless the court orders otherwise (Utah R. Civ. P. 56(b)).
Rule 56 Follows Rule 7 as Overhauled Effective November 1, 2025
Rule 56 motions and memoranda must follow Rule 7, and the current text of Rule 7, which sets the page and word limits and the filing-forward opposition and reply timing that summary judgment motions follow, took effect November 1, 2025.
25-Page or 9,000-Word Limit for Motion and Opposition
A motion for relief under Rule 56 and any memorandum opposing it is limited to 25 pages or 9,000 words; a reply memorandum supporting the motion is limited to 15 pages or 5,400 words (Utah R. Civ. P. 7(q)(1)).
Statement of Undisputed Material Facts Built Into the Motion
Utah's statement of material facts claimed not to be genuinely disputed is built directly into the motion or memorandum, separately numbered and supported by citation to the record, rather than filed as a freestanding document (Utah R. Civ. P. 56(a)(1)).
Partial Summary Judgment Native to Rule 56(a)
Rule 56(a) lets a party move for summary judgment identifying an entire claim or defense, or only part of one, with no separate summary adjudication or no-evidence motion procedure (Utah R. Civ. P. 56(a)).