Marian Fontenot, Etc. v. The Upjohn Company

ALVIN B. RUBIN, Circuit Judge:

The question presented is whether the district court may render summary judgment against a party who will bear the burden of proof of an essential element of its case at trial but is unable, in response to a motion for summary judgment, to produce any evidence, direct or circumstantial, on that issue; or to identify any witness who will testify in her favor on the issue; or to produce any evidence that might create an inference in her favor. We hold that, in the absence of even a scintilla of evidentiary material in her favor, such a party should not be entitled…