Eleanor G. Tennyson
How Judge Tennyson rules, drawn from 20 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Tennyson
Eleanor G. Tennyson has served as a United States Magistrate Judge for the District of Delaware since July 2024. She earned degrees from Grinnell College, Clemson University, and the University of Iowa College of Law. Before joining the bench, she clerked for District Judge Maryellen Noreika and practiced intellectual property law at Morris Nichols.
Judge Tennyson's practices and standing orders
Rules for cases before Judge Tennyson, as published on the court's website (checked October 9, 2026). Judges revise these often, so confirm the current version on the court's site before you file.
- Motion for Teleconference to Resolve Discovery / Protective Order Disputes ↗
- Rule 16 Scheduling Order - Patent Jury Trial ↗
- Sample Joint Claim Construction Chart ↗
- Magistrate Judge Eleanor G. Tennyson: Courtesy Copy Instructions ↗
- Rule 16 Scheduling Order - ANDA ↗
- Rule 16 Scheduling Order - Non-Patent Jury Trial ↗
Key rules
Filing
Deliver two double-sided courtesy copies within an hour of e-filing when an order specifies a time of day, or by noon the next business day for other filings.
“Unless otherwise ordered, two courtesy copies of all filings made at a specific time of day set by court order must be delivered to the Clerk’s Office within one (1) hour of e-filing. For all other filings, two courtesy copies must be delivered no later than noon on the next business day following e-filing. All courtesy copies must be double-sided.”
Discovery
The discovery teleconference form calls for a verbal meet and confer with Delaware and lead counsel and three proposed dates.
“The following attorneys, including at least one Delaware Counsel and at least one Lead Counsel per party, participated in a verbal meet-and-confer (in person and/or by telephone) on the following dates: [list date(s) and amount of time spent on each date]. Plaintiff’s Counsel: Delaware Counsel: [list counsel] Lead Counsel: [list counsel] Defendant’s Counsel: Delaware Counsel: [list counsel] Lead Counsel: [list counsel] The parties are available for a teleconference on the following dates: [list three proposed dates].”
Standing orders for every case in this court
Orders the court applies to all of its cases, whichever judge has them, as published on the court's website (checked October 9, 2026).
- In Re: Amendment to Procedures For Requesting, Filing, and Management of Highly Sensitive Documents ↗
- Standing Order Rescinding Mediation of Appeals from Bankruptcy Court ↗
- Standing Order No. 2022-2 Regarding Referrals to Magistrate Judges for Alternative Dispute Resolution ↗
- Originally posted 8-16-2022: Standing Order Regarding Revision to Electronic Case Filing Policies and Procedures ↗
- Standing Order for Objections Filed Under Fed. R. Civ. P. 72 ↗
How Judge Tennyson decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In an ANDA patent case, she recommended dismissal of inequitable-conduct counterclaims that lacked pleaded but-for materiality, while recommending denial of a request to strike a distinct affirmative defense.
“Where, as here, the references are before the Patent Office, Ascent was required to plead that Astellas made false statements to the Patent Office or committed some other egregious misconduct... Having failed to do so, Ascent has not sufficiently alleged the requisite but-for materiality.”
In the Inventing Anna privilege dispute, she held that communications between Netflix attorneys and Shondaland personnel were protected because those communications were reasonably necessary for counsel's legal-risk analysis.
“the communications between Netflix attorneys and Shondaland individuals were reasonably necessary to accomplish the purpose for which Ms. Gill was consulted -- i.e., analyzing the legal risks of the series. Therefore, communications between Netflix attorneys and Shondaland relating to the legal risks and exposure from the Inventing Anna series are protected from disclosure.”
In a patent counterclaim dispute, she recommended dismissing a patent-misuse theory based on allegedly bad-faith enforcement, distinguishing that theory from sham-litigation antitrust claims.
“This Court ultimately agrees that ‘bad faith’ enforcement of patents is not covered by the doctrine of patent misuse.”
Procedural preferences
In CF Taurus (US) LLC's matter, she denied leave to file a sur-reply because counsel had not complied with District of Delaware Local Rule 7.1.1's required oral meet-and-confer effort.
“Respondent CF Taurus (US) LLC's Motion for Leave to File a Sur-Reply Brief (D.I. 30) is DENIED for failure to comply with Local Rule 7.1.1, which requires a movant to engage in ‘a reasonable effort’ to reach agreement prior to filing any non-dispositive motion (i.e., oral communication involving Delaware counsel for the moving and non-moving parties).”
Cautions
Tennyson took the bench 2024-07-10 (merit-selected, so no appointing president/party) and carries a large REFERRAL caseload, most visibly, the consolidated Astellas Pharma Hatch-Waxman ANDA litigation (at least 8 member cases before Senior Judge Bataillon). Her docket splits into (a) REFERRAL matters (patent MTDs, motions to amend, discovery/sealing disputes, a foreign-discovery miscellaneous action), dispositive referrals are RECOMMENDATIONS subject to de novo review on objection (confirm the district judge's adoption/modification before relying on a recommended outcome; nondispositive referrals are reviewed only for clear error), and (b) her own 636(c)/duty civil docket (Social Security appeals, prisoner civil rights) where her orders are final. Before the bench she was a career law clerk to District Judge Maryellen Noreika (2018-2024) and an MNAT patent/Hatch-Waxman associate.
“Ms. Tennyson has been a career law clerk for the Honorable Maryellen Noreika, United States District Judge, District of Delaware since October 2018. She previously worked as an associate in the intellectual property group at Morris, Nichols, Arsht & Tunnell LLP. Her work there focused on patent litigation, particularly Hatch-Waxman cases and matters involving the chemical arts.”
In a patent eligibility referral, Tennyson recommended partial dismissal where some patent claims lacked an inventive concept while another claim set plausibly alleged an unconventional data-storage technique. The district judge later adopted the recommendation in part.
“For the reasons set forth below, the Court recommends that Defendant’s motion be GRANTED-IN-PART and DENIED-IN-PART.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“For the reasons set forth below, the Court recommends that Defendant’s motion be GRANTED-IN-PART and DENIED-IN-PART.”
Sua sponte prisoner-civil-rights screening recommendation under 28 U.S.C. Section 1915A. Tennyson recommended dismissal, and Chief Judge Connolly adopted the recommendation in full on April 8, 2025: 'Magistrate Tennyson's Report and Recommendation (D.I. 12) is ADOPTED.' The complaint was dismissed without prejudice as to the individual defendants Carter, Banya, and Jolly, with leave to amend, and with prejudice as to JTVCC. The recommendation was filed March 17 and adopted 22 days later without objections.
“Plaintiffs' motion to dismiss Defendant's counterclaims of inequitable conduct and to strike the related affirmative defenses, D.I. 227, is granted-in-part and denied-in-part as set forth in the Report and Recommendation, D.I. 293.”
“The Court therefore recommends striking Ascent's sixth and tenth affirmative defenses from its Amended Answer... The Court recommends that Astellas's motion to strike Ascent's eighth affirmative defense be denied.”
“Magistrate Judge Tennyson denied both motions in relevant part... She denied the first motion because Ascent 'did not move with sufficient diligence to add the '780 patent counterclaims and related affirmative defenses and that Ascent unduly delayed in attempting to do so.'”
“Weeks later, she denied the second motion on procedural and substantive grounds... Procedurally, Ascent failed to submit the deposition transcripts containing the purported new testimony that inspired the amendment... Substantively, changing Ascent's inequitable conduct theory after the close of fact discovery would delay the litigation and prejudice Astellas.”
“Presently before the Court is Plaintiff Rachel DeLoache Williams's ... request for an order compelling Defendant Netflix, Inc. ... to produce various documents exchanged between Netflix attorneys and certain third parties ... For the reasons set forth below, Plaintiff's request is DENIED.”
“CF Taurus's motion to quash the subpoena ... and to vacate the order granting discovery for use in foreign proceedings under 28 U.S.C. 1782 (D.I. 16), as well as Petitioners' cross-motion to compel compliance with the subpoena (D.I. 21). For the reasons set forth below, CF Taurus's motion is DENIED”
“and Petitioners' cross-motion is GRANTED as MODIFIED... The Court will therefore exercise its discretion and limit Petitioners' request as follows: CF Taurus shall produce all documents in its possession, custody or control that are communications ... with the Therium Group ... relating to an attempt to solicit investment in any of the Sulu Claimants' arbitration and enforcement proceedings.”
“Plaintiff's motion for summary judgment (D.I. 12 ) is DENIED, and the Commissioner's cross-motion for summary judgment (D.I. 14) is GRANTED.”
Recommended dismissal with prejudice after statutory screening of the second amended prisoner complaint. No party motion was resolved, and district-judge adoption was not verified.
“the Court recommends that Defendant’s motion to dismiss be GRANTED and the Complaint be DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE.”
Screened the complaint and recommended that an ADA discrimination claim proceed while other claims be dismissed, some with prejudice and others with leave to amend. The document mentions an earlier denial of temporary relief but does not decide that motion anew; district-judge adoption was not verified.
“the Court recommends that Officer Randazzo’s motion be GRANTED.”
“Defendants’ motion to dismiss (D.I. 8) be GRANTED and the Complaint be DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE.”
“Plaintiffs’ motion for leave to file a sur-reply (D.I. 13) is DENIED”
“motion for electronic filing rights (D.I. 16) be DENIED as MOOT upon adoption of the undersigned’s Report and Recommendation.”
Pending matters in the official report
Reported by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts under the Civil Justice Reform Act, as of March 31, 2026.
| Motions pending more than six months | 12 |
| Bench trials submitted more than six months | 0 |
| Bankruptcy appeals pending more than six months | 0 |
| Social Security appeals pending more than six months | 0 |
| Civil cases pending more than three years | 3 |
| Report | Motions over six months | Cases over three years |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | 12 | 3 |
| Sep 2025 | 2 | 3 |
| Mar 2025 | 1 | 0 |
| Sep 2024 | 0 | 0 |
A snapshot on that date: matters listed may since have been decided or reassigned. A motion referred to a magistrate judge is counted for both judges. Motions in multidistrict litigation, section 2255 cases and Social Security appeals are not counted, and a very large three-year count is generally a multidistrict docket. Source: Appendix A of the report (PDF); about the report.
How long civil cases take in this court
For the whole of U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware, not for Judge Tennyson: median time from filing to disposition of the civil cases the court closed in the 12 months ending September 30, 2025, as reported by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.
| Cases | Median time | |
|---|---|---|
| All civil cases closed | 1,391 | 9.7 months |
| Closed with no court action | 244 | 3.4 months |
| Closed before pretrial | 1,042 | 10.5 months |
| Closed during or after pretrial | 68 | 21 months |
| Closed during trial | 37 | 42.3 months |
| 12 months ending | Cases closed | Median time |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 1,391 | 9.7 months |
| Sep 2024 | 1,331 | 8.5 months |
| Sep 2023 | 1,357 | 8.2 months |
| Sep 2022 | 1,925 | 7.3 months |
| Sep 2021 | 1,823 | 7.1 months |
| Sep 2020 | 1,914 | 6.4 months |
| Sep 2019 | 2,001 | 5.4 months |
The table leaves out prisoner petitions, land condemnations, deportation reviews, recovery of overpayments and enforcement of judgments, and reports no median for fewer than 10 cases. A district that closed a large multidistrict litigation in the period shows very large counts and long medians for that year. Source: Table C-5, U.S. District Courts (spreadsheet).
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