Ultimate Facts, Material Facts, Evidentiary Facts

Depending on the context — eg, pleadings, summary judgment, motions to dismiss, jury instructions — cases use the phrases “ultimate fact,” “material fact,” and “evidentiary fact.” The distinctions are subtle but legally important.

A “material fact” and an “ultimate fact” generally mean the same thing. “Ultimate facts are those the jury must find to return a verdict for the plaintiff.” R.M.A. by Appleberry v. Blue Springs R-IV Sch. Dist., 568 S.W.3d 420, 425 (Mo. 2019). “A material fact in the context of summary judgment is one from which the right to judgment flows.” Goerlitz v. City of Maryville, 333 S.W.3d 450, 453 (Mo. 2011). Evidentiary facts, on the other hand, play a more subordinate role. They secondarily tend to support an ultimate or material fact. “A proper verdict-directing instruction submits only the ultimate facts, not evidentiary details.” Blanks v. Fluor Corp., 450 S.W.3d 308, 395 (Mo. Ct. App. 2014).

Related Articles

Reformation Statute of Limitations

May 18, 2023

Reformation is a legal theory used to correct mistakes in a legal document. More technically, it is an “extraordinary equitable remedy and should be granted with great caution and only in clear cases of fraud or mistake.” Morris v. Brown, 941 S.W.2d 835, 840 (Mo. Ct. App. 1997). For example, in cases of mistake, the mistake…

Read More

Finality re: Collateral Estoppel, Res Judicata

May 10, 2023

Collateral estoppel is  a “court-made doctrine,” precluding re-litigation of an issue previously decided. Sexton v. Jenkins & Associates, Inc., 152 S.W.3d 270, 273 (Mo. 2004). To be “final” for collateral estoppel purposes, a judgment need only be “sufficiently firm to be accorded conclusive effect.” Ogle v. Guardsman Ins. Co., 701 S.W.2d 469, 471 (Mo. App….

Read More

Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies

April 25, 2023

Before filing a lawsuit relating to the actions of an administrative agency, a litigant must typically exhaust all administrative remedies. Indeed, “[i]t is well settled that when an administrative remedy is available[,] such remedy must be exhausted before a court may give injunctive or declaratory relief.” Mo. Health Care Ass’n v. Mo. Dep’t of Soc. Servs.,…

Read More

Harmless Error

April 18, 2023

To prevail as the appealing party on an appeal, you must demonstrate that there is reversible error. Very generally, “reversible error” is an error which affects the outcome of a case and prejudices the losing party. State v. Buamruk, 280 S.W.3d 600, 614 (Mo. 2009). This can be a tall hill to climb. For instance, if an appellant…

Read More
Scroll to Top