The federal courts have been in some disagreement as to whether, under Rule 56, a court is obliged to consider the materials “on file” in deciding whether a “genuine issue as to any material fact” is shown (as Rule 56(c)(2) indicates). Indeed, a majority of our sister circuits appear to have taken the view that a court, in assessing a summary judgment motion, may confine its consideration to materials submitted with and relied on in response to the motion (as Rule 56(e)(2) may contemplate).
Consistent with the majority view, subdivision (c)(3) of the 2010 version of Rule 56 now specifies that a “court need consider only the cited materials,” though “it may consider other materials in the record.” See Fed. R. Civ. P. 56 advisory committee’s note (explaining that the 2010 version’s “[s]ubdivision (c)(3) reflects judicial opinions and local rules provisions stating that the court may decide a motion for summary judgment without undertaking an independent search of the record”).
Sinclair v. Mobile 360, 2011 U.S. App. LEXIS 4112 (4th Cir. N.C. Mar. 3, 2011) (unpublished)
This rather unusual case does serve the useful purpose of highlighting a requirement that briefs opposing a motion for summary judgment must cite to the record and adduce affidavits or other materials necessary to the opposition. In the case at bar, the pro se appellants argued that the court below erred by not considering materials previously filed by their (now withdrawn) legal counsel.
Specifically, the Appellants contend that, under the plain terms of Rule 56(c)(2) as it existed in 2009, a court assessing a summary judgment motion must consider the materials “on file,” and the Counseled Response was “on file” in this case when summary judgment was awarded.
The Defendants respond that it was the Appellants’ burden, under Rule 56(e)(2), to bring the Counseled Response to the court’s attention, and that there was nothing preventing the Appellants from resubmitting, in response to the Renewed Motion, any exhibits that had been filed as part of the Counseled Response.
The Fourth Circuit, noting that its prior, more generous, holding on the issue may have been superseded by the rule change noted above, nonetheless chose to apply the old rule here, particularly in view of the pro se litigants’ predicament.
In candor, a majority of the other circuits might prefer a view contrary to our Campbell decision [Campbell v. Hewitt, Coleman & Associates, Inc.], and that view may have since been ensconced in Rule 56 by way of the 2010 amendments. In any event, a careful assessment of the Counseled Response would not impose an unwarranted burden on the magistrate judge, for several reasons. . . . [E]ven though the First Motion was withdrawn, the Counseled Response and Auto Advantage’s Reply were never withdrawn or stricken from the record. As a result, the Counseled Response remained “on file” in this case when summary judgment was awarded to the Defendants. In such circumstances, the award of summary judgment to the Defendants must be vacated under the applicable 2009 version of Rule 56.
(emphasis added)
Note: Judge Wilkerson dissented, stating:
. . . the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure were amended in 2010, and these amendments eliminated the “on file” language from Rule 56. Fed. R. Civ. P. 56. Rule 56 now explicitly states that district courts “need consider only the cited materials” when ruling on summary judgment. Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c)(3).
And the current Rule 56 makes clear that parties are obligated to support their assertions with citations to the record. Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c)(1). If a party neglects this obligation and “fails to properly support an assertion of fact or fails to properly address another party’s assertion of fact . . . the court may: . . . (2) consider the fact undisputed for purposes of the motion; [and] (3) grant summary judgment if the motion and supporting materials — including the facts considered undisputed — show that the movant is entitled to it . . . .” Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(e).
As the Advisory Committee Notes explain, these changes “reflect[] judicial opinions and local rules provisions stating that the court may decide a motion for summary judgment without undertaking an independent search of the record.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 56 advisory committee’s note. Thus, the 2010 amendments rejected our minority position in Campbell in favor of the approach followed by the majority of the circuits that had considered the issue. Accordingly, under the current Rule 56, district courts need consult only those materials cited by the parties when ruling on summary judgment.
Decisions From Other Circuits – As noted in the opinion, the Fourth Circuit opinion had been a minority point of view:
At least seven of our sister circuits have weighed in on the apparent tension between the language in subdivisions (c)(2) and (e)(2) of Rule 56. The First Circuit has concluded that the materials “on file” should be considered by the district court in ruling on a summary judgment motion. See Stephanischen v. Merchs. Despatch Transp. Corp., 722 F.2d 922, 930 (1st Cir. 1983). The Second Circuit has decided that summary judgment cannot be awarded “on the ground that the nonmovant’s papers failed to cite to the record unless the parties are given actual notice of the requirement.” See Amnesty Am. v. Town of W. Hartford, 288 F.3d 467, 471 (2d Cir. 2002).
Five other courts of appeals have taken the view that requiring a district court to review materials not relied on by the parties is unduly burdensome to the judiciary. See Carmen v. S.F. Unified Sch. Dist., 237 F.3d 1026, 1029 (9th Cir. 2001); Adler v. Wal-Mart Stores Inc., 144 F.3d 664, 672 (10th Cir. 1998); Forsyth v. Barr, 19 F.3d 1527, 1537 (5th Cir. 1994); L.S. Heath & Sons, Inc. v. AT&T Info. Sys., Inc., 9 F.3d 561, 567 (7th Cir. 1993); Guarino v. Brookfield Twp. Trs., 980 F.2d 399, 405 (6th Cir. 1992).However, the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure were amended in 2010, and these amendments eliminated the “on file” language from Rule 56. Fed. R. Civ. P. 56. Rule 56 now explicitly states that district courts “need consider only the cited materials” when ruling on summary judgment. Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c)(3). And the current Rule 56 makes clear that parties are obligated to support their assertions with citations to the record. Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c)(1). If a party neglects this obligation and “fails to properly support an assertion of fact or fails to properly address another party’s assertion of fact . . . the court may: . . . (2) consider the fact undisputed for purposes of the motion; [and] (3) grant summary judgment if the motion and supporting materials — including the facts considered undisputed — show that the movant is entitled to it . . . .” Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(e).
Of Interest – Mark Debofsky wrote an interesting article a few years back about the abuse of summary judgment in the ERISA setting. Though not pertinent to the issue above, the article draws important conclusions about the odd way in which Rule 56 is applied in ERISA cases. Mark notes that federal courts have migrated toward application of a “substantial evidence” test to determine whether a plan administrator’s decision is rational rather than applying the typical summary judgment standard focused on genuine issues of fact. See, DeBofsky, The Paradox of the Misuse of Administrative Law In ERISA Benefit Claims, 37 John Marshall Law Review 727 (2004).