The purpose of a trial is to decide issues of fact.  Sometimes there is no dispute as to the material facts in a case.  In those instances, either party can file a motion for summary judgment asking the court to decide the case by applying the law and assuming all the facts are agreed upon.

I recently had a case where the plaintiffs sued my client without any facts that he misappropriated their trade secret.  In their answers to interrogatories they said the only witness that my client took their trade secret was my client himself.  My client, as the only witness, testified at a deposition that he did not take the trade secret.

We filed a motion for summary judgment.  The judge did not initially grant the motion because the only evidence my client did not take the trade secret was from my client himself.  The judge took the matter under submission and stated the court would inform us of the ruling on that motion.

If there ever was a case for granting summary judgment, this was it.  Go figure.