Opinion ID: 1189865
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: The District Court's Sua Sponte Summary Judgment

Text: The district court did not err in granting summary judgment sua sponte. Sua sponte grants of summary judgment are only appropriate if the losing party has `reasonable notice that the sufficiency of his or her claim will be in issue.' Greene v. Solano County Jail, 513 F.3d 982, 990 (9th Cir.2008) (quoting Buckingham v. United States, 998 F.2d 735, 742 (9th Cir.1993)). Notice need not be explicit.... A party is `fairly appraised' that the court will in fact be deciding a summary judgement [sic] motion if that party submits matters outside the pleadings to the judge and invites consideration of them. In re Rothery, 143 F.3d 546, 549 (9th Cir.1998) (internal citations omitted). Sawyer met this condition by submitting two declarations outside the pleadings in support of his opposition to the government's motion, and he had a fair opportunity to contest the issues decided in the motion. See id. More fundamentally, with the exception of just compensation, Sawyer never raised any issue that required resolution of any question of fact. See supra. As a consequence, when Sawyer eventually entered into a stipulation with the government with respect to compensation, he effectively removed the only factual issue before the court. The district court did not err in granting summary judgment sua sponte. [5]