Opinion ID: 1328863
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Full and Fair Opportunity to Complete Discovery

Text: The Court of Appeals held the trial court abused its discretion in granting summary judgment before Doe had a full and fair opportunity to complete discovery. We agree. Summary judgment is a drastic remedy, which should be cautiously invoked so that no person will be improperly deprived of a trial of the disputed factual issues. Baughman v. American Tel. & Tel. Co., 306 S.C. 101, 112, 410 S.E.2d 537, 543 (1991). This means, among other things, that summary judgment must not be granted until the opposing party has had a full and fair opportunity to complete discovery. Id. In Baughman, we ruled summary judgment premature because (1) plaintiffs demonstrated a likelihood that further discovery would uncover additional relevant evidence, and (2) plaintiffs were not dilatory in seeking discovery. Although three years had elapsed between filing the action and summary judgment, the delay could not fairly be attributed solely to plaintiffs' inaction, and the delay was tempered by the complexity of the case. Id. at 112-114, 410 S.E.2d at 544. The record here does not support a finding that Doe was dilatory in pursuing discovery. Depositions, including Donald's, were scheduled for the week following the hearing. Doe had noticed Batson's deposition on January 31, 1998, but postponed it at the request of defense counsel in two related cases, [3] in order to consolidate the discovery process. Although the delay was in no way attributable to Batson, it was not solely attributable to Doe either. Doe should have been permitted to complete discovery. See J.S. v. R.T.H., 155 N.J. 330, 714 A.2d 924, 936 (1998) (summary judgment entered five months after defendant's answer was filed was premature; plaintiffs should have been given the opportunity to depose [molester] and others to try to discover further evidence bearing on [defendant's] knowledge of [molester's] conduct or sexual proclivities).