Jenkins v. Stewart & Everett Theatres Inc‪.‬

The plaintiff assigns as error the judgment of the trial court granting summary judgment for the defendant. If the pleadings, deposition and affidavit in the present case showed that there was no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the defendant was entitled to judgment as a matter of law, the trial court did not err in granting summary judgment in favor of the defendant. See G.S. 1A-1, Rule 56(c). In order to bear its burden of showing that it was entitled to summary judgment, the defendant was required to present a forecast of the evidence which would be available at trial and which showed that there was no material issue of fact concerning an essential element of the plaintiff's claim and that such element could not be proved by the plaintiff through the presentation of substantial evidence. See Moore v. Fieldcrest Mills, Inc., 296 N.C. 467, 251 S.E.2d 419 (1979); Bank v. Evans, 296 N.C. 374, 250 S.E.2d 231 (1979).