Karl Spillman Forester

How Judge Forester rules, drawn from 17 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.

Judge Forester no longer hears cases. This profile is preserved as a historical record of how they ruled.

Court
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky
Position
district
Status
Deceased
Served
1988–2014
Appointed by
Ronald Reagan (Republican)
Commissioned
1988-07-27
Education
University of Kentucky, B.A. (1962); University of Kentucky College of Law, J.D. (1966)
Signed orders read
17

How Judge Forester decides

Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.

What persuades

In Santa Escolastica, Forester granted summary judgment on a contract counterclaim because the defendant identified litigation expense but no recoverable contract damages.

“Without damages, there is no cause of action.”

Procedural preferences

In Garrard County, Forester declined to consider a proposed supplemental exhibit because the candidate's personal campaign statement did not speak for the county government.

“he is speaking therein as a private candidate, not as an official of Garrard County and, therefore, these comments are irrelevant to the Court’s analysis.”

Signed rulings

A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.

Cole v. Shadoan
· 2011-03-02
Summary judgment (school defendants) Granted

“That the motion for partial summary judgment [DE 45] on Plaintiffs state law claims against Defendant Cox-Blackburn in her official capacity, Defendant Grigson in her official capacity, and the Paris Board of Education [DE 45] is GRANTED”

Whalen v. Stryker Corp.
· 2011-03-08
Motions to dismiss (defendant Stryker Corporation) Granted in part

“Stryker’s motion to dismiss [DE # 9] is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART”

Santa Escolastica, Inc. v. Pavlovsky
· 2011-10-18
Summary judgment (defendant Dimitri Pavlovsky) Granted in part

“Defendant’s motion for summary judgment [DE 46] is GRANTED IN PART AND DENIED IN PART.”

Summary judgment (plaintiff Santa Escolastica, Inc.) Granted in part

“Plaintiffs motion for partial summary judgment [DE 51] is GRANTED IN PART AND DENIED IN PART.”

United States v. Kearney
· 2011-05-26
Motion to suppress (defendant James Russell Kearney) Denied

“Kearney’s motion to suppress [DE # 18] is DENIED.”

Matthews v. Educational Credit Management Corp.
· 2011-03-04
Bankruptcy appeal (appellant Teresa Ann Matthews) Denied

“the Judgment entered by the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky entered on June 3, 2010 [BR# 92] is AFFIRMED.”

Heartwood, Inc. v. Agpaoa
· 2009-04-27
Motion for judgment reversing administrative decision (plaintiffs) Denied

“the plaintiffs’ motion for judgment reversing the administrative decisions [DE # 49] is DENIED”

Motion for leave to amend complaint (plaintiffs) Granted

“the plaintiffs’ motion for leave to file a Third Amended Complaint [DE # 51] is GRANTED”

Motion for leave to file supplemental information (plaintiffs) Granted

“the plaintiffs’ motion to leave to file supplemental information [DE # 67] is GRANTED.”

Limbright v. Hofmeister
· 2010-02-01
Motions to dismiss (defendants) Granted in part

“Defendants’ motion to dismiss Plaintiffs’ Complaint [DE 40] is DENIED in part and GRANTED in part.”

American Civil Liberties Union v. Garrard County
· 2007-09-05
Summary judgment (defendant Garrard County) Denied

“the motion of defendant Garrard County for summary judgment [DE # 44] is DENIED”

Motion for leave to file supplemental exhibit (plaintiffs) Denied

“the plaintiffs’ motion for leave to file supplemental exhibit [DE # 50] is DENIED”

In re Air Crash at Lexington, Kentucky, August 27, 2006
· 2008-01-03
Motions to dismiss (defendant Comair) Granted in part

“Comair's [DE # 539] motion to dismiss Plaintiffs' claims of loss of spousal consortium is GRANTED with the exception of the claim by Plaintiff Towles which is passed at this time;”

Motions to dismiss (defendant Bombardier) Granted

“Bombardier's [DE #736] motions to dismiss Plaintiffs' claims of loss of consortium of an adult child are GRANTED”

Cincinnati Insurance Co. v. Crossmann Communities Partnership
· 2008-03-20
Motion for judgment on pleadings (plaintiff Cincinnati Insurance Company) Granted

“the plaintiffs motion for judgment on the pleadings [DE # 55] is GRANTED;”

Motion for leave to amend answer (defendant Beazer) Granted

“the motion of defendant Beazer to amend answer and defenses [DE # 72] is GRANTED”

Motion for leave to file surreply (defendant Beazer) Granted

“Beazer’s motion to file surreply [DE # 79] is GRANTED”

Alliant Tax Credit Fund 31-A, Ltd. v. Nicholasville Community Housing, LLC
· 2009-09-30
Summary judgment (plaintiffs) Granted in part

“Plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment against McMaster and Murphy for liability on the guaranty agreements and against Murphy for dismissal of his counterclaims [DE 98] is GRANTED. Plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment on damages is PASSED pending further orders of the Court;”

Summary judgment (defendant McMaster) Denied

“McMaster’s motion for partial summary judgment on enforceability of the guaranty agreement [DE 113] is DENIED;”

Summary judgment (defendant Murphy) Denied

“Murphy’s motion for partial summary judgment on enforceability of the guaranty agreement [DE 115] is DENIED;”

Motion for hearing (defendant Murphy) Moot / procedural

“Murphy’s motion for hearing on Plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment [DE 116] is DENIED AS MOOT.”

In re Air Crash at Lexington, Kentucky, August 27, 2006
· 2008-02-19

Forester adopted a magistrate judge's discovery ruling concerning protected aviation-safety information; no distinct motion outcome was classified from the district order.

Caseload & timing

From public federal docket records for this judge.

Median case duration in the sampled dockets: 1645 days (N = 5).

The five sampled terminated matters involved Social Security disability, prisoner civil rights, asbestos product liability, employment civil rights, and land condemnation.

A historical record

Judge Forester no longer hears cases. This profile stays available as a record of how they ruled. If you're preparing for a matter, start from the court's current bench.