Opinion ID: 2054217
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Summary Judgment Criteria

Text: Super.Ct.Civ.R. 56(c) (1993) requires the trial court to grant summary judgment if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law. The moving partyhere Smithhas the burden of clearly demonstrating the absence of any genuine issue of material fact and entitlement to judgment as a matter of law. See Holland v. Hannan, 456 A.2d 807, 815 (D.C.1983). To survive a summary judgment motion, the opposing partyhere CUICneed only show that there is sufficient evidence supporting the claimed factual dispute to require a jury or judge to resolve the parties' differing versions of the truth at trial. Nader v. de Toledano, 408 A.2d 31, 42 (D.C.1979) (quoting International Underwriters, Inc. v. Boyle, 365 A.2d 779, 782 (1976)). If the offered evidence and related inferences would permit the factfinder to find for the nonmoving party under the appropriate burden of proof, the motion for summary judgment must be denied. See id. Our standard of review of a trial court summary judgment order is the same as that applied by the trial court when it considers the motion in the first instance. See Government Employees Ins. Co. v. Group Hosp. Medical Servs., Inc., 602 A.2d 1083, 1086 (D.C.1992); Taylor v. Eureka Inv. Corp., 482 A.2d 354, 357 (D.C. 1984). In granting summary judgment here, the trial court necessarily concluded as a matter of law that, on the facts seen in the light most favorable to CUIC, there were no genuine issues of material fact as to whether the transfer of the building was a fraudulent conveyance or whether Smith was entitled to pierce the corporate veil. We begin by examining the applicable legal principles.