Where There Has Been No Genuine Opportunity to Conduct Relevant Discovery, a Motion for Summary Judgment is Premature
The Missouri Court of Appeals recently held that a trial court abused its discretion when it granted summary judgment to the defendants before the plaintiff deposed a witness whose testimony could not be secured by affidavit. The appeals court in Traweek v. Smith disagreed with a trial court’s dismissal of the plaintiff’s amended petition only two weeks after leave had been granted to add a claim for reformation, and before the plaintiff could present evidence to oppose the defendants’ motion for summary judgment. Having complied with Rule 74.04(f)’s requirement of presenting an affidavit specifying the discovery that was needed and why it was needed, the appeals court held that two weeks was not enough time for the plaintiff to conduct the discovery specified in the affidavit and reversed the trial court’s decision.
Traweek involved an automobile accident in which the plaintiff was injured while riding in a vehicle driven by someone else. The plaintiff spent two months in a coma and suffered severe head trauma, loss of memory, and loss of cognitive skills. The plaintiff entered an out-of-court policy limits settlement with the fault driver then filed suit against the driver and owner of the other vehicle involved in the accident. In exchange for a policy limits payment, the plaintiff executed a release prepared by the fault driver’s insurer.
The defendants moved for summary judgment on the basis of the release which contained language releasing the fault driver, its insurer, “and all other persons, firms or corporations liable, or who might be claimed to be liable.” The defendants argued that the plaintiff’s claims against them were barred because she had already released them from any claims arising out of the accident. In opposition, the plaintiff invoked Rule 74.04(f) and argued that summary judgment would be premature because she had just been granted leave to amend the petition to add a claim for reformation of the release. The plaintiff presented evidence that she did not intend to release the defendants and that the fault driver’s insurance adjuster had admitted to her lawyer that the insurer intended to release only the fault driver. On this basis, the plaintiff argued that there was a mutual mistake that warranted reformation of the release to reflect the parties’ true intent. However, because the adjuster was unwilling to sign an affidavit attesting to that, the plaintiff contended that she needed to take his deposition to elicit this information.
The appeals court acknowledged that a trial court generally has discretion to either permit or deny additional time to conduct discovery before ruling on a pending summary judgment motion, but ruled that granting summary judgment only two weeks after allowing the plaintiff to add a claim for reformation of the settlement agreement was an abuse of discretion because the plaintiff had met Rule 74.04(f)’s requirement.
For a trial court to consider a request under Rule 74.04(f), the party requesting time to conduct discovery must present an affidavit specifying the additional evidence sought and explain how it will support the existence of a factual dispute. In Traweek, the plaintiff’s lawyer filed an affidavit detailing his contacts with the insurance adjuster and the adjuster’s unwillingness to cooperate to correct the release. The affidavit also stated that the plaintiff intended to depose the adjuster to elicit this information and how it pertained to the plaintiff’s argument that there was a mutual mistake in the release. Also, the appeals court noted there was evidence in the record that the plaintiff did not intend to release the defendants from liability by entering a settlement with the fault driver. Taken together, the adjuster’s testimony and the evidence already in the record would create a genuine dispute of fact on the existence of mutual mistake which would justify reformation of the release. Accordingly, the appeals court found that the trial court acted hastily in entering summary judgment, and the case was remanded to the trial court to allow the plaintiff enough time to depose the adjuster.
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