While there are myriad reasons why an appellate court may reverse a motion court’s decision, the focus here is on how to deal with an appeal of those favorable but potentially problematic opinions in which a motion court grants summary judgment but is arguably either overreaching or underreaching in its corresponding analysis.
Sometimes a party moves for only partial summary judgment, but the motion court grants summary judgment on all claims. Similarly, sometimes a party does not move for summary judgment at all but is nevertheless granted summary judgment in its favor. At first blush, such decisions may appear to be improper and overreaching. Indeed, it seems somewhat antithetical to the concept of notice requirements for a party to be granted relief that it has not even requested.
