Alleman v. Slaughter, 2026 UT App 85 (Tenney, J.)

Civil Law

The Utah Court of Appeals held:

The court granted the petition for extraordinary relief and reversed the district court’s decision granting Slaughter’s motion for summary judgment, awarding attorney fees to slaughter, and denying Special Administrator’s motion to substitute as moot.

Practice tip:

When a motion for summary judgment is unopposed, the district court still has an obligation to evaluate the motion and determine if the moving party is actually entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.

Practice tip:

If an entity is denied party status, but the court enters substantive orders that harm the entities interests, the only remedy is to file a petition for extraordinary relief to challenge the substantive rulings.

Read the full court opinion

by The Appellate Group

2026, Civil, Court of Appeals, Q2

The Appellate Group