What motion asks the court to decide a case without a trial because there are no material facts in dispute?

• A. Judgment on the Pleadings
• B. Subpoena
• C. Summary Judgment
• D. Notice of Motion

Answer: (C)

The idea being tested is resolving a case without a trial when there’s no genuine dispute about any material facts. In New York civil practice, that’s a summary judgment motion. A party asks the court to grant judgment as a matter of law based on the evidentiary record (affidavits, depositions, documents). If the movant can show there are no triable issues of fact, the court grants the motion and the case ends without a trial. If any material fact is disputed, the motion must be denied and the case proceeds to trial. Subpoenas are tools to obtain evidence, and a Notice of Motion is only the procedural notice that a motion will be made. Judgment on the pleadings can sometimes terminate a case based on the pleadings alone, but it doesn’t rest on an evidentiary record showing no material facts in dispute the way summary judgment does.