Pridgen v. Hughes

MORRIS, Judge.

Summary judgment procedure was first used in England under a rule adopted in 1855 and was applicable only to actions upon bills of exchange and promissory notes. Apparently, New York was the first State in the United States to adopt the procedure, following the English model. Clark, Summary Judgments, 2 F.R.D. 364 (1943). The New York rule originally applied only to a debt or liquidated demand arising on either contract or judgment for a stated sum. Subsequent amendments enlarged the categories of actions available for motion for summary judgment by plaintiff and allowed a…