Philip P. Simon
How Judge Simon rules, drawn from 16 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Simon
Philip P. Simon is a judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana. Appointed by President George W. Bush, Judge Simon received a commission on March 27, 2003.
Judge Simon's practices and standing orders
Rules for cases before Judge Simon, 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.
Key rules
Trial
Mark exhibits before trial and give opposing counsel and the court copies with an exhibit list.
“All exhibits are to be marked before trial and copies are to be furnished to opposing counsel and the Court with an exhibit list.”
Trial
File a trial date reset motion as early as possible and notify chambers promptly.
“If it is necessary to file such a motion, it should be made at the earliest possible date and counsel should notify chambers of the motion as soon as possible.”
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).
How Judge Simon decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In Johnson v. Enhanced Recovery Company, Simon granted the defendant summary judgment on an FDCPA claim because the challenged letter was only possibly misleading under circuit precedent and the plaintiff offered no extrinsic evidence of confusion.
“Defendant Enhanced Recovery Company, LLC's motion for summary judgment [DE 64] is GRANTED.”
In the reviewed FMLA case, Simon treated sworn declarations based on personal knowledge as competent summary-judgment evidence and required contrary admissible evidence; labels such as self-serving, unsupported denials, and rhetorical questions did not create a genuine dispute.
“Accordingly, Defendants’ motion for summary judgment on both of Hansen’s remaining claims [DE 33] is GRANTED.”
He dismissed a declaratory action where a federal consent decree neither bound the nonparty customer communities nor authorized federal rate-setting, and the declaratory-judgment statute supplied no independent basis for subject-matter jurisdiction.
“For all of these reasons, Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Jurisdiction [DE 85] is GRANTED and the complaint is DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE.”
Cautions
On a Title VII single-incident supervisor-harassment claim he declines to adopt a modified Ellerth/Faragher affirmative defense that drops the second prong: both prongs are required and a prompt employee report forecloses the defense, so he denies the employer's motion to reconsider.
“the Court DENIES defendant AWS's motion to reconsider [DE 40].”
In consolidated litigation, Simon granted a stay where one defendant's arbitration dispute would otherwise force duplicative trials and potentially overlapping verdicts; ordinary delay did not outweigh the gains in judicial economy and simplification without a specific showing of prejudice.
“Equifax and TransUnion’s joint motion to stay the case [4:22-cv-85, DE 267; 4:22cv-86, DE 191; and 4:22-cv-90, DE 193] is GRANTED.”
In the college eligibility case, Simon required economic evidence that the NCAA rule caused an undue restraint of trade before granting interim antitrust relief. The plaintiff’s sparse record and controlling circuit precedent defeated the combined request for temporary and preliminary relief.
“he has presented virtually no evidence at all.”
In one trade-secret pleading dispute, the judge dismissed unjust enrichment with prejudice when the complaint itself foreclosed that remedy, while allowing an amendment to the fraud allegations.
“Because the allegations in the Second Amended Complaint preclude recovery under an unjust enrichment theory, Count Nine is DISMISSED with prejudice.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“Plaintiff Erin Johnson's motion for summary judgment [DE 61] is DENIED.”
“Defendant Enhanced Recovery Company, LLC's motion for summary judgment [DE 64] is GRANTED.”
“Defendant American Heritage Insurance Company's motion for summary judgment, DE 35, is GRANTED and Plaintiffs' motion for partial summary judgment, DE 28, is DENIED.”
“Plaintiffs' motion for partial summary judgment, DE 28, is DENIED.”
“the Court DENIES defendant AWS's motion to reconsider [DE 40].”
“Equifax and TransUnion’s joint motion to stay the case [4:22-cv-85, DE 267; 4:22cv-86, DE 191; and 4:22-cv-90, DE 193] is GRANTED.”
“For all of these reasons, Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Jurisdiction [DE 85] is GRANTED and the complaint is DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE.”
“Consequently, the Supplemental Motion to Dismiss [DE 94] will be denied, but the original motion to dismiss [DE 85] will be granted.”
“Accordingly, Defendants’ motion for summary judgment on both of Hansen’s remaining claims [DE 33] is GRANTED.”
“Order and Preliminary Injunction [DE 2] is DENIED.”
“ACS’s Motion for Summary Judgment is GRANTED and Eastes’ claims are hereby DISMISSED.”
“Purdue Research Foundation’s Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part. [DE 50.]”
“Arun Ghosh’s Motion to Dismiss, or in the Alternative, Motion for a More Definite Statement is GRANTED. [DE 53.]”
“Herron’s motion for summary judgment [DE 16] is GRANTED, and this case is REVERSED and REMANDED to the Commissioner for proceedings consistent with this opinion pursuant to sentence four of 42 U.S.C. § 405(g).”
“State Farm’s Motion for Summary Judgment is GRANTED. [DE 100.]”
“Orthotek’s motion for summary judgment [DE 37] is therefore GRANTED, and Mrs. Burns’ motion for summary judgment [DE 39] is DENIED.”
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 | 2 |
| Bench trials submitted more than six months | 0 |
| Bankruptcy appeals pending more than six months | 1 |
| Social Security appeals pending more than six months | 0 |
| Civil cases pending more than three years | 18 |
| Report | Motions over six months | Cases over three years |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | 2 | 18 |
| Sep 2025 | 0 | 15 |
| Mar 2025 | 0 | 16 |
| Sep 2024 | 0 | 22 |
| Mar 2024 | 1 | 17 |
| Sep 2023 | 9 | 12 |
| Mar 2023 | 2 | 10 |
| Sep 2022 | 0 | 3 |
| Mar 2022 | 0 | 6 |
| Sep 2021 | 3 | 6 |
| Mar 2021 | 2 | 8 |
| Sep 2020 | 0 | 5 |
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 Northern District of Indiana, not for Judge Simon: 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 | 1,338 | 8.5 months |
| Closed with no court action | 68 | 2.6 months |
| Closed before pretrial | 958 | 7.6 months |
| Closed during or after pretrial | 302 | 14.5 months |
| Closed during trial | 10 | 43.6 months |
| 12 months ending | Cases closed | Median time |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 1,338 | 8.5 months |
| Sep 2024 | 1,336 | 8.5 months |
| Sep 2023 | 1,248 | 9.4 months |
| Sep 2022 | 1,434 | 12.5 months |
| Sep 2021 | 1,258 | 12.7 months |
| Sep 2020 | 1,408 | 11.8 months |
| Sep 2019 | 1,576 | 13.8 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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