Wilson v. Great Northern Railway Company

Summary judgment is a relatively new addition to our rules of civil practice. It may be conceded to be an extreme and drastic pretrial remedy which should be granted only "if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." RCP 56(c). Furthermore, issues of negligence, contributory negligence, and proxi*218mate cause are not ordinarily susceptible to summary adjudication. 6 Moore's Federal Practice…