Brewster v. Colgate-Palmolive Co.

Dissenting Opinion by

Justice VENTERS.

Although I am in complete agreement with the majority opinion insofar as it reaffirms the applicability of Owens v. Clary1 and rejects the extension of the Lanier2 approach, I dissent because, in my view, the Appellees should not have been granted summary judgment. As then Judge McAnulty pointed out in his dissent to the Court of Appeals opinion in this case:

A party does not have to meet their burden of proof in order to survive a motion for summary judgment. Summary judgment is not a substitute for trial nor is it the functional or equivalent of a motion…