Edward Joseph McManus
How Judge McManus rules, drawn from 14 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
Judge McManus no longer hears cases. This profile is preserved as a historical record of how they ruled here.
About Judge McManus
Edward Joseph McManus was a judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa. Appointed by President John F. Kennedy, Judge McManus received a commission on July 16, 1962. Judge McManus assumed senior status on February 9, 1985 and served until death on March 20, 2017.
How Judge McManus decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In an insurance-coverage dispute, McManus refused to enforce an exclusion whose wording was too broad and indefinite to give fair notice.
“it is the court’s view that State Farm’s policy language excluding damages ‘[f]or which the United States might be liable ...’ (emphasis added), is too ambiguous, vague and comprehensive to be given effect.”
He weighed contractual control and economic reality together when determining whether a professional was an employee or independent contractor.
“the court concludes that there exists no disputed issue of material fact, and that the working relationship between plaintiff and defendant constituted an independent contractor relationship.”
Procedural preferences
McManus applied removal rules with attention to substantive federal jurisdiction rather than treating minor consent timing as dispositive.
“This court must follow the Eighth Circuit’s ruling in Christiansen mandating a ‘disinclination to apply the unanimity requirement in a hyper technical and unrealistic manner.’”
He dismissed statutory counterclaims when the claimant had not completed the required administrative process.
“Since defendant has failed to exhaust its administrative remedies, the court lacks jurisdiction over defendant’s counterclaims.”
Cautions
McManus expressly criticized excessive briefing even while resolving a substantial administrative-law challenge.
“The court notes that plaintiffs’ and defendant's briefs are inexcusably long.”
Subjective complaints did not carry the day when treatment history and objective findings did not support the asserted degree of limitation.
“The extent of plaintiff’s asserted limitations is not supported by objective medical evidence or observable manifestations.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“Motion to remand denied.”
“Motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction by defendant UPC denied as moot.”
“Motion for judgment on the pleadings granted; Complaint dismissed for statistical purposes.”
“United States’ and Raymond Johnson’s motions for summary judgment granted, State Farm’s motion for summary judgment denied.”
“It is therefore ORDERED Affirmed.”
“This matter is before the court upon plaintiff’s resisted, motion for summary judgment, filed August 27, 1987 and defendant’s resisted motion to affirm Secretary’s decision, filed November 3, 1987. Affirmed.”
“The Hauans’ motion to consolidate granted.”
“Both appeals affirmed.”
“Defendant’s motion for summary judgment denied.”
“Plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment granted.”
“Motion to certify question denied.”
“Summary judgment granted for defendant on plaintiff’s complaint.”
“defendant’s Motion to Dismiss, filed January 3, 1964, is sustained, and plaintiff’s action is dismissed.”
“It is therefore ORDERED Dismissed.”
“It is therefore ORDERED Denied.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Twenty returned historical cases included nine foreclosures, two Social Security matters, two prisoner cases, two product-liability matters, and smaller contract, securities, statutory, and student-loan categories. This exact-name result set is a limited historical slice, not a complete career caseload.
Pending matters in the official report
Judge McManus was last listed in the Civil Justice Reform Act report as of September 30, 2020.
| Motions pending more than six months | 0 |
| 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 | 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.
A historical record
Judge McManus no longer hears cases. This profile stays available as a record of how they ruled here. If you're preparing for a matter, start from the court's current bench.