Vermont Motion for Summary Judgment
Vermont ties summary judgment deadlines to case events, not a hearing date: there is no statewide notice-of-hearing period, the opposition is due 30 calendar days after service of the motion, and a reply is due 14 days after service of the opposition, under Rule 56.
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Introduction
Vermont Rule of Civil Procedure 56 ties the entire summary judgment timetable to case events rather than to a scheduled hearing, and there is no statewide notice-of-hearing period at all: Rule 7(b)(6) expressly excepts Rule 56 motions from the general right to an evidentiary hearing, and oral argument is purely discretionary under Rule 7(b)(5) (V.R.C.P. 7(b)(5), (b)(6)). A motion for summary judgment may be filed at any time until 30 days after the close of all discovery, unless a different time is set by stipulation or court order (V.R.C.P. 56(b)). Once the motion is served, the adverse party, the respondent, must file its opposition within 30 calendar days after service of the motion, and the movant may then file a reply within 14 days after service of the opposition; a court-permitted surreply may follow (V.R.C.P. 56(b); 56(c)(5)). These deadlines run forward from service, not backward from any hearing, and are computed under V.R.C.P. 6(a). The governing standard, restyled on the federal 2010 template, requires the court to grant summary judgment if the movant shows there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law (V.R.C.P. 56(a)). Rule 56 has been amended repeatedly in recent years: an order effective July 1, 2025 revised subsections (c)(1), (2), (6), (d) and (h) to allow declarations alongside affidavits, and an emergency order effective January 1, 2023 restored the current 'at any time until' filing language after a prior amendment had briefly and erroneously required filing 'within' 30 days of the close of discovery. Required papers include the motion, the movant's separate and concise statement of undisputed material facts in numbered paragraphs with specific record citations, the nonmovant's paragraph-by-paragraph response to that statement plus any additional facts it wants considered, supporting affidavits or declarations made on personal knowledge, and a memorandum in opposition (V.R.C.P. 56(c)(1), (2), (6); 7(b)(4)). Vermont has no Texas-style no-evidence motion as a separate procedure. This page covers a civil motion for summary judgment in a Vermont superior court under Rule 56. 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, 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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Vermont ties summary judgment timing to case events, not a hearing date: there is no statewide notice-of-hearing period because Rule 7(b)(6) excepts Rule 56 motions from the general right to an evidentiary hearing, and the adverse party must file its opposition within 30 calendar days after service of the motion (V.R.C.P. 7(b)(6); 56(b)).
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If you are the respondent, the party served with the motion, your 30-day clock runs from the date you were served with the motion, not from any hearing notice, because Vermont has no statewide hearing-notice regime for summary judgment; do not wait for a hearing date to calculate your deadline (V.R.C.P. 56(b)).
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An unopposed Vermont motion for summary judgment is not automatically granted. The rule requires the court to find that the movant has shown there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and is entitled to judgment as a matter of law before granting the motion (V.R.C.P. 56(a)).
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The governing standard was restyled on the federal 2010 template: summary judgment is granted if the movant shows there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. An amendment effective July 1, 2025 revised Rule 56(c)(1), (2), (6), (d) and (h) to allow declarations alongside affidavits (V.R.C.P. 56(a), (c)).
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The movant may file a reply within 14 calendar days after service of the opposition, and the court may permit a surreply. A motion for summary judgment may be filed at any time until 30 days after the close of all discovery, unless a different time is set by stipulation or court order (V.R.C.P. 56(b), (c)(5)).
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Required papers include the movant's separate and concise statement of undisputed material facts with numbered paragraphs and specific record citations, and the nonmovant's paragraph-by-paragraph response to that statement plus any additional facts it wants considered, supported by affidavits or declarations made on personal knowledge (V.R.C.P. 56(c)(1), (2), (6)).
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Vermont has no Texas-style no-evidence motion as a separate procedure. This page covers only a Vermont state-court motion for summary judgment, 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 Vermont, 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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Vermont Requirements for Motion for Summary Judgment
No Statewide Hearing-Notice Period for Summary Judgment
Rule 7(b)(6) excepts motions governed by Rule 56 from the general right to an evidentiary hearing, and Rule 7(b)(5) leaves oral argument to the court's discretion, so Vermont has no notice-of-hearing period like states built around a fixed hearing date (V.R.C.P. 7(b)(5), (b)(6)).
30-Day Opposition Deadline Runs From Service
The adverse party must file its opposition within 30 calendar days after service of the motion for summary judgment, with the deadline running forward from service rather than backward from a hearing date (V.R.C.P. 56(b); 7(b)(4)).
14-Day Reply Deadline After Service of Opposition
The moving party may file a reply memorandum within 14 calendar days after service of the opposition (V.R.C.P. 56(c)(5)), and a surreply is allowed at the court's discretion (V.R.C.P. 7(b)(4); 56(b)).
Filing Window Runs to 30 Days After Close of Discovery
A party may file a motion for summary judgment at any time until 30 days after the close of all discovery, unless a different time is set by stipulation or court order, keying the filing deadline to the discovery schedule rather than the trial date (V.R.C.P. 56(b)).
Movant's Separate Statement of Undisputed Material Facts Required
The movant must file a separate and concise statement of undisputed material facts in numbered paragraphs with specific citations to particular parts of the record (V.R.C.P. 56(c)(1)).
Nonmovant's Paragraph-by-Paragraph Response Required
The nonmovant must file a paragraph-by-paragraph response to the movant's statement, reproducing each numbered paragraph before responding to it, plus any separate statement of additional material facts it wants considered (V.R.C.P. 56(c)(2)).
Affidavits or Declarations Must Rest on Personal Knowledge
Supporting affidavits or declarations, a category expanded to include declarations effective July 1, 2025, must be made on personal knowledge, set out admissible facts, and show the affiant or declarant is competent to testify to the matters stated (V.R.C.P. 56(c)(6)).
Genuine Dispute Standard Restyled on Federal Template
The court must grant summary judgment if the movant shows there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law, wording restyled on the federal 2010 amendments to Rule 56 (V.R.C.P. 56(a)).
No Texas-Style No-Evidence Motion
Vermont has no Texas-style no-evidence motion as a separate procedure. Vermont's Rule 56 is based almost entirely on the federal 2010 amendments to Rule 56, and Vermont's departures are procedural and timing rules rather than a distinct motion type (V.R.C.P. 56(a)).