Summary Judgment Motion

Question

BACKGROUND

An HOA has failed to follow its bylaws (breach of contract), which has been documented in a thorough email trail to provide the facts and demonstrating communicating the bylaws to the HOA board.

QUESTION

If post-demand letter it is necessary to bring the issue to small claims court:

Is there any reason not to request a Summary Judgment Motion?

Assume that my understand of MSJ is limited to the provided link.

It seems that MSJ provides advantage (if one documents and provides a strong case):

1. it provides the opportunity provide my narrative and exclude opposition
2. it will minimize time and legal cost if successful

As always, any lessons learned or pitfalls to avoid are highly appreciated. Thank you

UPDATE

Attorney consultation indicates that the case would not be in small claims court. The opposing side will get a chance to respond. It was suggested that the case is a matter of law and not a matter of fact.

Answer 1

Based on your other posts, I believe your matter would be decided in Small Claims court. If so, my understanding is that summary judgment would be moot or not applicable because processes in Small Claims are --by their nature-- much briefer than lawsuits in civil court, whence such a motion cannot shorten any further a process in Small Claims. That preempts the aspect of

2. it will minimize time and legal cost if successful

As for

1. it provides the opportunity provide my narrative and exclude opposition

at least in theory, neither Small Claims nor motions for summary judgment are useful or devised for excluding opposition. The other party will get its opportunity to refute your arguments.

Even if you request that your motion be decided without a hearing, I doubt that the judge will do so (especially if the other party suggests that a hearing for the matter should be scheduled).