United States District Court, N.D. California
LOURDES A. ACASIO, Plaintiff,
v.
SAN MATEO COUNTY, et al., Defendants.
NOTICE TO PLAINTIFF REGARDING SUMMARY JUDGMENT MOTION
AND ORDER SETTING SUMMARY JUDGMENT BRIEFING SCHEDULE
JACQUELINE SCOTT CORLEY United States Magistrate Judge.
Defendant
will file a motion for summary judgment under Rule 56 of the
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. This notice is written to
explain to the pro se plaintiff how the summary judgment
process works and the consequences if a summary judgment
motion is granted in the defendant’s favor. See
Rand v. Rowland, 154 F.3d 952 (9th Cir. 1998).
A
motion for summary judgment provides a procedure for
terminating an action without trial if “there is no
genuine issue as to any material fact and . . . the moving
party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.”
Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). Material facts are those which may affect
the outcome of the case. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby,
Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248 (1986). A dispute as to a
material fact is genuine if there is sufficient evidence for
a reasonable jury to return a verdict for the party opposing
the motion for summary judgment. Id.
The
party filing the motion for summary judgment is called the
“moving party”; the party opposing the motion is
called the “opposing party.” The moving party
bears the initial burden of identifying those portions of the
pleadings, discovery and affidavits which demonstrate the
absence of a genuine issue of material fact. Celotex
Corp. v. Cattrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323 (1986). Where the
moving party will have the burden of proof on an issue at
trial, it must affirmatively demonstrate that no reasonable
trier of fact could find other than for the moving party. But
on an issue for which the opposing party will have the burden
of proof at trial, the moving party need only point out that
there is an absence of evidence to support the opposing
party’s case. Id.
Once
the moving party meets its initial burden, the opposing party
may not rest upon the allegations or denials of unverified
pleadings, but must file an opposition setting forth specific
facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial.
Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e). The facts relied upon must be admissible
under rules governing admission of evidence generally, and
must be presented in items such as: (1) declarations based on
personal knowledge, accompanied by sworn or certified copies
of all documents referred to in the declaration,
[1]
id.; (2) discovery documents, such as answers to
deposition questions, answers to interrogatories or answers
to requests for admissions, that have been properly
authenticated by a declaration by someone with personal
knowledge of the documents’ accuracy, Fed.R.Civ.P.
56(c); (3) verified complaints that meet the requirements of
Rule 56(e)-that is, complaints containing factual assertions
that are within the pleader’s personal knowledge and
are otherwise admissible evidence, see Schroeder v.
McDonald, 55 F.3d 454, 460 (9th Cir. 1995); see also
Keenan v. Hall, 83 F.3d 1083, 1090 n.1 (9th Cir. 1996).
The evidence presented on each claim must not only be
admissible, but also must be sufficient for a jury to
reasonably return a verdict for the opposing party.
Anderson, 477 U.S. at 249. If the opposing party
fails to contradict the moving party with declarations or
other evidence, the moving party’s evidence may be
taken as the truth.
It is
not the district court’s job to search the record for a
genuine issue of triable fact. Keenan v. Allen, 91
F.3d 1275, 1279 (9th Cir. 1996). The opposing party has the
burden of identifying with reasonable particularity the
evidence that precludes summary judgment. Id.
If the
moving party has met its burden of proof and the opposing
party fails to set forth specific facts showing that there is
a genuine issue for trial, then “the moving party is
entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Celotex
Corp., 477 U.S. at 323. A successful motion for summary
judgment terminates the action without trial and will result
in a final judgment on the merits, or if a partial motion,
disposes of a particular claim or claims for relief.
Plaintiff
is reminded that she may contact the Legal Help Center, 450
Golden Gate Avenue, 15th Floor, Room 2796, Telephone No.
(415) 782-8982, for free assistance regarding her claims.
IT IS
SO ORDERED.
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Notes:
[1] A declaration is a statement of facts
which are personally known to the person making the
declaration. The facts in a declaration must be admissible in
evidence, i.e., evidentiary facts and not conclusions or
argument. The declaration must show affirmatively that the
person making the declaration is competent to testify to the
matters stated therein and contain no inadmissible hearsay or
opinions. A declaration must be made under penalty of
perjury, i.e., it must be signed at the end after the
statement “I declare ...