Question

The plaintiff and defendant were involved in a car accident in which the plaintiff's vintage sports car was severely damaged. The plaintiff sued the defendant in federal court for $200,000 in damages, alleging that the defendant had run a red light and caused the accident. The defendant claimed that the light was green. The plaintiff files a motion for summary judgment supported by an authenticated surveillance video that clearly shows the defendant driving through the red light, as well as an affidavit from a vintage car expert who described the value of the plaintiff's car and the cost of repairing the damage. The defendant opposes the motion for summary judgment but offers no supporting evidence regarding the color of the light. He does, however, offer affidavits from two car experts who stated that the plaintiff's car was not nearly as valuable as he claimed and that only $50,000 worth of damage was done to it.
May the court grant the motion for summary judgment?

Answer 1

Answer:

The court may grant partial summary judgment on the matter of liability and give the issue of damages to a jury.

Explanation:

Summary judgment may be partial as well as complete. Because there is no genuine dispute of material fact regarding the cause of the car accident (due to the fact that the defendant failed to submit any evidence in response to the motion for summary judgment), the court can grant partial summary judgment on the issue of liability.