P. Michael Mahoney
How Judge Mahoney rules, drawn from 3 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
Judge Mahoney no longer sits on this court. This profile is preserved as a historical record of how they ruled here.
About Judge Mahoney
P. Michael Mahoney served as a United States Magistrate Judge for the Northern District of Illinois from 1976 through 2014, including service on recall after 2012. He worked in the Western Division and taught at Northern Illinois University College of Law. The mediation center at the federal courthouse in Rockford bears his name.
How Judge Mahoney decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In GMAC, LLC v. Hillquist, Mahoney denied summary judgment against two individuals on a corporate-veil theory. Although some evidence favored piercing the veil, he found material disputes about the company and the individuals’ roles that prevented judgment on the motion.
“the facts appear slightly in favor of piercing the veil. But, there are enough material facts in dispute to frustrate granting GMAC's motion for summary judgment as to either Einer or Neil.”
Procedural preferences
In Fort v. Astrue, Mahoney remanded a disability decision because the ALJ did not connect the full medical record to his conclusion, including evidence after a later surgery.
“The court finds that the ALJ failed to build a logical bridge between the medical record as a whole and his conclusion. In particular, there is substantial evidence suggesting that the information highlighted by the ALJ was not current, and did not encompass all of Claimant's symptoms and treatment history.”
Cautions
In EEOC v. Area Erectors, Mahoney declined to compel claimants’ arrest records because the employer had not identified a particular reason to suspect work-related misconduct. He left open a narrower request if the employer could make that showing.
“without a particularized showing, the speculative benefit of such a wide sweeping inquiry is outweighed by the threat of annoyance, embarrassment and oppression.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“For the forgoing reasons, Claimant's motion for summary judgment is granted, and the Commissioner's motion for summary judgment is denied. This matter is reversed and remanded pursuant to sentence four of 42 U.S.C. § 405(g) with instructions that the Commissioner conduct further administrative proceedings in accordance with this opinion.”
“For the forgoing reasons, Claimant's motion for summary judgment is granted, and the Commissioner's motion for summary judgment is denied.”
“claimants' prior litigation concerning personal injuries could lead to the discovery of admissible evidence ... the court will compel the EEOC to identify only those prior cases which concern the personal injury of a claimant, whether that injury was work related or not. No other prior litigation needs to be identified at this time.”
“Because Defendant has failed to demonstrate how this case 'involves' the EE03 reports, the court will not compel the EEOC to produce them at this time.”
“The court denies GMAC's motions for summary judgment against Neil and Einer as to all counts.”
“The court grants Einer's motion for summary judgment as to Counts II, III, V, and VI. The court denies Einer's motion for summary judgment as to Count I ... The court denies Einer's motion for summary judgment as to Count IV. ... The court denies Einer's motion for summary judgment as to his affirmative defenses of novation and waiver.”
“The court denies Neil's motion for summary judgment as to Counts III and IV. The court grants Neil's motion for summary judgment as to Counts V and VI.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Median case duration in the sampled dockets: 880 days (N = 3).
- Because every civil case filed in the Western Division was assigned to Mahoney for discovery, case management, and settlement, his docket combined a heavy volume of pretrial supervision and settlement conferences with the full consent cases he carried to final judgment under 28 U.S.C. 636(c): including Social Security disability appeals and commercial disputes.
- The three durations below are from contested consent merits cases and are a tiny, selection-biased sample, not a random caseload median.
A historical record
Judge Mahoney no longer sits on this court. 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.