In summary judgment applications, which statement best captures the 'no other compelling reason' criterion?

• A. There must be a strong reason to proceed to trial
• B. The court should order a trial regardless
• C. The case should be disposed of at a trial only if there is a triable issue
• D. There must be no other compelling reason to have the case disposed of at a trial

Answer: (D)

In summary judgment, the court will dispose of a case on the papers if there is no real prospect of the claim succeeding and there is no other compelling reason for the matter to go to trial. The “no other compelling reason” part means that if there are factors that would make a full trial desirable or necessary—such as disputed facts that require live evidence, credibility issues, or procedural fairness concerns—the court should not grant summary judgment.

So the statement that there must be no other compelling reason to have the case disposed of at a trial captures that test: only when there isn’t any such reason should the case be decided without a trial. The other options imply a different approach (forcing a trial, or requiring a trial regardless, or tying disposal to the existence of triable issues alone), which does not reflect the protective check built into summary judgment practice.