summary judgmentnoun [ C or U ]
ukusLAWa legal process in which a court makes a decision based on the facts that have been provided, without ordering a trial:
The theory of summary judgment is that judges may rule for one side or the other only after finding that no "genuine" issues of "material" fact are in dispute.
deny/grant/issue a summary judgment The judge granted a summary judgment, dismissing O'Connor's claims against the Disciplinary Board.