Charles Robert Wolle
How Judge Wolle rules, drawn from 24 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
Judge Wolle no longer hears cases. This profile is preserved as a historical record of how they ruled here.
About Judge Wolle
Charles Robert Wolle was a judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa. Appointed by President Ronald Reagan, Judge Wolle received a commission on August 6, 1987. Judge Wolle assumed senior status on October 16, 2001 and served until death on December 6, 2022.
How Judge Wolle decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In Brubaker v. Deere, he entered judgment for Deere after a bench trial, finding that the written plans reserved the right to change retiree benefits despite contrary oral assurances.
“this court concludes judgment must be entered in favor of Deere on all claims brought by the plaintiffs, with taxable costs to be paid by plaintiffs.”
Procedural preferences
In Eggers v. Wells Fargo, he denied the bank's motion to dismiss without prejudice to raising its grounds again at summary judgment.
“ORDER denying 47 Motion to Dismiss without prejudice to defendant reasserting its grounds for ending this case by motion for summary judgment. Signed by Senior Judge Charles R. Wolle on 9/11/2015.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“The court grants the EEOC motion for partial summary judgment.”
ERISA class action by Deere retirees alleging Deere promised lifetime fixed retiree medical benefits and breached them through its 2008 'Healthy Directions' program. After expedited discovery and a bifurcated bench trial on liability from September 21 to October 2, 2009, Wolle entered judgment for Deere on all claims, holding that the written plan documents unambiguously reserved Deere's right to change benefits and that retirees could not reasonably rely on contrary oral representations. This was a post-trial final judgment rather than a ruling on a party motion.
“IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that summary judgment be entered against plaintiffs and in favor of defendants Celotex Corp., Certainteed Corp., Garlock, Inc., Armstrong World Industries, Inc., Flintkote Co., and Vapor Corp.”
“Defendants' motions to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction are denied.”
“Defendant's motion for summary judgment is granted. The clerk shall enter judgment for defendant and against plaintiffs, at plaintiffs' cost.”
“Defendant has demonstrated it is entitled to summary judgment. The clerk of court shall enter summary judgment for the defendant and against the plaintiff, with costs taxed to the plaintiff.”
“Plaintiff's motion to remand is granted. This action is remanded to the Iowa District Court for Story County for further proceedings.”
“Plaintiff's resisted motion to remand this case to the Iowa District Court for Mahaska County is denied.”
“The defendant's motion for new trial is denied.”
“The court denies plaintiffs' motion to reopen this case they previously dismissed.”
“The court denies plaintiff's motion to remand this case to the Iowa District Court for Polk County.”
“Plaintiffs' motion to remand is granted. The clerk of court shall remand this case to the Iowa District Court for Johnson County for further proceedings.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Median case duration in the sampled dockets: 413 days (N = 7).
Median motion-to-ruling time: 94 days (N = 3).
- The reviewed sample covers about 17 cases filed from 1998 through 2020, excluding three suits in which Judge Wolle was a named defendant rather than the presiding judge.
- It includes employment and civil-rights claims under Title VII and the ADA, ERISA, securities, FELA, and a substantial group of Social Security disability appeals.
- The sample shows subject-matter breadth but is not a complete docket census.
Pending matters in the official report
Judge Wolle was last listed in the Civil Justice Reform Act report as of September 30, 2021.
| 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 |
| Report | Motions over six months | Cases over three years |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2021 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2021 | 2 | 1 |
| Sep 2020 | 0 | 1 |
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 Wolle 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.