When Your Case Was Ended Before It Ever Got to Trial.

Cases Ended on the Law Get Fresh Review

Challenging the Ruling That Cut the Case Short.

Summary judgment and dismissal appeals challenge decisions that ended a case early, before a full trial, on purely legal grounds. A dismissal says the claim fails as a matter of law; summary judgment says no genuine factual dispute requires a trial.

These are among the most favorable rulings to appeal. Because the trial court decided them on the law rather than by weighing live testimony, appellate courts review them fresh, without deference. The reviewing court asks the same legal question the trial court did, and can reach its own answer.

We handle summary judgment and dismissal appeals across Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, D.C., showing that the case should not have been ended early, that a genuine dispute existed or the claim was legally sound, under the fresh review these rulings receive.

Where We Come In

• ✓ Your case was dismissed before trial
• ✓ Summary judgment ended the case on the law
• ✓ A genuine factual dispute was overlooked
• ✓ The court misapplied the legal standard
• ✓ You won early and must defend the ruling
• ✓ The dismissal deadline is approaching

Summary Judgment

Challenge a case decided without a trial.

Motions to Dismiss

Appeal a claim dismissed as a matter of law.

Genuine Disputes

Show a factual dispute required a trial.

Legal Standard

Appeal a misapplied dispositive standard.

Defending Rulings

Protect an early win on appeal.

De Novo Framing

Brief for the fresh review these get.

Map the Deadlines

We confirm the jurisdictional dates first and file the notice of appeal on time. Nothing else matters until this is locked.

Build the Record

We assemble the transcripts and filings the appellate court relies on, and make sure the error is visible in it.

Choose the Issues

We isolate the few preserved errors with the best standard of review and the clearest path to changing the outcome.

Brief & Argue

We write tight, persuasive briefs anchored in the record and the law, and we are ready for the hard questions at argument.

“Summary judgment and dismissal appeals are, frankly, the appeals I like our clients’ odds on the most, and the reason is the standard of review. When a judge throws a case out on the law, before any trial, the appellate court does not defer to that decision the way it would to a jury’s verdict or a discretionary call. It reviews the question fresh, de novo, asking the same legal question for itself. That is the most favorable posture an appellant can have. The work is in showing the appellate court that there really was a genuine factual dispute, or that the claim was legally sound, and the case never should have been cut short.”

Answers Before You Call