The City of Missoula has filed for summary judgment in its lawsuit against Montana Attorney General Tim Fox regarding a universal background check ordinance for gun purchases, asking a judge to rule in its favor on the application of state laws without going through a trial.
Summary judgment can be used when the two sides of a case have a solely legal disagreement, not a factual one. That’s the case with Missoula’s attempt to get its gun ordinance — made defunct by a legal opinion issued by Fox last year — back onto the books, said Scott Stearns and Zach Franz, attorneys from Missoula firm Boone Karlberg who were hired by the city for the suit.