Juge v. County of Sacramento

In Juge v. County of Sacramento (1993) 12 Cal.App.4th 59, the appellate court concluded: "Consistent with the purpose of the summary judgment statute, we conclude that the trial court has the inherent power to grant summary judgment on a ground not explicitly tendered by the moving party when the parties' separate statements of material facts and the evidence in support thereof demonstrate the absence of a triable issue of material fact put in issue by the pleadings and negate the opponent's claim as a matter of law. However, when the trial court grants a summary judgment motion on a ground of law not explicitly tendered by the moving party, due process of law requires that the party opposing the motion must be provided an opportunity to respond to the ground of law identified by the court and must be given a chance to show there is a triable issue of fact material to said ground of law." ( Juge, supra, 12 Cal.App.4th at p. 70.)