summary judgment is when the undisputed facts allow a lawsuit, or a portion thereof, to be decided by the judge shy of trial. The usual context is on a motion by the defendant which basically says, “even if you believe the facts as alleged by the plaintiff, he can’t win when the law is applied, so dismiss it now and save us all the hassle.”

The value of summary judgment is obvious: cases that need not go further are disposed of expeditiously, freeing up dockets and saving litigants (and taxpayers) time, effort, and money