The Iowa Court of Appeals has determined that an affidavit may serve the purpose and as an effective substitute for a statement of disputed facts in resistance to a summary judgment motion.
Iowa Rule of Civil Procedure 1.981(3) requires parties resisting summary judgment motions to file a statement of disputed facts. In Ishman v. Featherlite, Inc., No. 8-927 / 08-0372 (Iowa Ct. App. March 11, 2007), the plaintiff failed to file a document designated as a "statement of disputed facts." However, the plaintiff did file an affidavit contesting many of the factual statements made by the defendant.
The defendant argued that the failure to file a statement of disputed facts meant that the facts the defendant stated were deemed admitted. The Court of Appeals held that the “affidavit was the equivalent of a statement of disputed facts.”
Rule 1.981(3) does not specify the form that a statement of disputed facts should take. An affidavit is certainly a “statement.” As a result, the Court of Appeals’ decision, while contrary to the normal practice of submitting a separate statement supported by an affidavit, does comport with the text of the rule.
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