Opinion ID: 1855588
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: standard of review

Text: ¶ 5. The circuit court's grant of summary judgment is reviewed by this Court de novo. Hernandez v. Vickery Chevrolet-Oldsmobile Co., 652 So.2d 179, 181 (Miss.1995). This Court's review is governed by the same standard used by the circuit court under Rule 56(c) of the Mississippi Rules of Civil Procedure. Brown v. Credit Ctr., Inc., 444 So.2d 358, 362 (Miss.1983). The trial court must review carefully all of the evidentiary matters before it: admissions in pleadings, answers to interrogatories, depositions, affidavits, etc. The evidence must be viewed in the light most favorable to the party against whom the motion is made. Id. If there is no genuine issue of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law, summary judgment should be granted in the moving party's favor. Id. ¶ 6. The burden of demonstrating that no genuine issue of material fact exists is on the moving party. Id. To defeat a motion for summary judgment, the nonmoving party must make a showing sufficient to establish the existence of the elements essential to his case. Id. In other words, the nonmovant must present affirmative evidence that a genuine issue of material fact exists. As to issues on which the nonmovant bears the burden of proof at trial, the movant needs only to demonstrate an absence of evidence in the record to support an essential element of the movant's claim. Crain v. Cleveland Lodge 1532, Order of Moose, Inc., 641 So.2d 1186, 1188 (Miss.1994). The nonmovant then bears the burden by affidavit or otherwise of setting forth specific facts showing that there are indeed genuine issues for trial. Fruchter v. Lynch Oil Co., 522 So.2d 195, 199 (Miss.1988). The nonmovant should be given the benefit of every reasonable doubt. Rosen v. Gulf Shores, Inc., 610 So.2d 366, 368 (Miss.1992).