Robert Madden Hill
Judge Hill no longer hears cases. This profile is preserved as a historical record of how they ruled.
How Judge Hill decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
He deferred to trial-court fact-finding when the account of the evidence was plausible, even if the appellate court might have weighed the evidence differently.
“Where there are two permissible views of the evidence, the factfinder’s choice between them cannot be clearly erroneous.”
He read an arbitration clause to cover a dispute centered on interpretation of the contract provision governed by that clause.
“When the parties’ dispute centers on the interpretation of a contract provision, the dispute falls under an arbitration clause even when the contract uses the narrower “arises under” language rather than the broader “arising out of” language.”
Procedural preferences
He treated a timely post-judgment motion as eliminating appellate jurisdiction until the district court entered an order disposing of that motion.
“The filing of a timely motion under rule 59(e) nullifies the notice of appeal filed before the disposition of the motion.”
Cautions
He favored deciding claims on their merits rather than dismissing them for technical pleading defects when the intended defendant and requested relief were otherwise clear.
“Mere technical defects in a pleading do not provide a basis for dismissal.”
He applied the circuit’s prior-panel rule even where a litigant asked the panel to reconsider an earlier holding.
“for in this circuit one panel may not overrule the holding of a previous panel.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“For the reasons expressed, we reverse the dismissal of the case and remand for further proceedings. REVERSED AND REMANDED.”
“The summary judgment of the district court in favor of the defendants is AFFIRMED.”
“The district court’s judgment dismissing the petitioner’s writ of habeas corpus petition is AFFIRMED.”
“For the the reasons stated above, the judgment of the district court is AFFIRMED.”
“We REVERSE the judgment of the district court and REMAND for a determination of Vistar’s damages and for entry of judgment consistent with this opinion.”
“For the foregoing reasons the judgment of the district court is AFFIRMED.”
A historical record
Judge Hill no longer hears cases. This profile stays available as a record of how they ruled. If you're preparing for a matter, start from the court's current bench.