The NAACP and Black Fayette County voters alleged that the at-large method of electing the Board of Education diluted minority voting strength in violation of § 2 of the Voting Rights Act. The plaintiffs did not move for summary judgment against the Board, but the district court entered judgment against it without notice after the Board had made a limited liability concession to support a proposed settlement plan. The Eleventh Circuit held that Rule 56(f) required notice and a reasonable opportunity to respond before the court could enter summary judgment on its own; the Board’s settlement-related concession did not cure the notice failure. The court reversed the summary judgment against the Board and remanded for further proceedings without reaching the merits of the vote-dilution claim or the proposed remedial plan; it left the intervening election results undisturbed.