Are you supposed to respond to motions?
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Are you supposed to respond to motions?
Hi. I have an EEOC case. I submitted a motion for a
decision without a Hearing. Then the Agency
submitted a Motion for Summary Judgement.
Am I expected to respond to the motion or wait for
the judge to say something?
Asked on October 27, 2018 under Employment Labor Law, Virginia
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 5 years ago | Contributor
You SHOULD respond if you don't want the agency's motion granted. (If you do want it granted or don't care one way or the other, don't do anything.) If you don't respond and put forth your arguments about why the motion should not be granted, the court will deem the motion "unopposed" and will be very likely to grant the agency the summary judgment it has requested--so review what they asking for, and if you don't want them to get that, you have to respond. Responding doesn't mean that they won't get summary judgment: if the facts and law are on their side, they most likely will. But if you respond, at least you will be heard and get a chance to articulate why the motion should not be granted. Not responding, you surrender the chance to be heard.
You have to respond within the time frame within your state's court rules. Your response has to do one or both of challenging their facts (based on affidavits and/or documentary evidence) and/or show why their suggested interpretation or application of the law is incorrect.
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