The summary judgment process provides a method of terminating a case before it is submitted to the jury when only questions of law are involved and there are no genuine issues of fact. When a party to a lawsuit cannot show that there is a fact issue for the jury to determine, the grant of summary judgment to the opposing party does not violate the constitutional right to a jury trial.

A summary judgment is often filed after the parties discover some facts in the discovery process, and one or both parties believe that the facts conclusively establish their right to prevail at trial, and that no reasonable jury could find the facts to be otherwise.

In West Virginia, the summary judgment process is a legal mechanism that allows a court to promptly dispose of a case without a trial when there are no genuine disputes over material facts and the case can be decided on legal issues alone. This process is governed by Rule 56 of the West Virginia Rules of Civil Procedure. A party may file a motion for summary judgment after the discovery phase if they believe that the evidence is so one-sided that they should prevail as a matter of law. The court will grant summary judgment if it finds that there is no genuine issue of material fact for a jury to decide and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. The use of summary judgment in West Virginia does not infringe upon the constitutional right to a jury trial, as it is only applied in situations where factual disputes are absent and only legal questions remain. If the court determines that there are indeed factual issues that require a jury's assessment, summary judgment will not be granted, and the case will proceed to trial.