Thomas Banister Russell
How Judge Russell rules, drawn from 18 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
Judge Russell no longer sits on this court. This profile is preserved as a historical record of how they ruled here.
About Judge Russell
Thomas B. Russell was a judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky. Appointed by President William J. Clinton, Judge Russell received a commission on October 11, 1994. Judge Russell assumed senior status on November 15, 2011 and retired on September 1, 2023.
How Judge Russell decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
Russell looked past artful labels when a purported tort theory duplicated the same contingent indemnity injury.
“Because Dutchland’s negligent misrepresentation claim is really an indemnity claim in disguise, however, summary judgment as to this claim is also GRANTED.”
Russell enforced clear insurance limits as written and rejected ambiguity created by reading unrelated policy sections together.
“Whatever ambiguity that Primary Care claims to have found exists only because it is reading two unrelated sections of the policy, clearly delineated as such, in tandem.”
Procedural preferences
Russell deferred trustee fee reimbursement until success and reasonableness could be assessed on a completed record.
“the proper procedure is to allow Defendants to seek reimbursement from the Trust after the conclusion of this case, assuming Defendants are successful and their expenses reasonable.”
Russell limited an ERISA administrative record to decision materials actually used, while excluding sworn-unused internal guidance.
“only those that were relied upon to decide Plaintiffs claim should be included in the record.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“For the foregoing reasons, Third-Party Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment is GRANTED.”
“For the foregoing reasons, Plaintiffs motion to remand to the Circuit Court of Hardin County, Kentucky is DENIED.”
“FOR THE FOREGOING REASONS, Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgement is GRANTED.”
“IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Defendant Morgan Stanley Trust’s motion (DN 27) is DENIED”
“Defendant Craig Williamson’s motion (DN 34) is DENIED.”
“Plaintiffs’ Motion for Permission to File Supplemental Response, or in the Alternative, for the Court to Schedule an Oral Argument (DN 52) is DENIED as moot.”
“Plaintiffs’ Motion to Require Defendant’s Production of Materials Removed and/or Omitted from the Administrative Record (Docket # 54) is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART.”
“Plaintiffs Second Motion for Summary Judgment is DENIED”
“Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART.”
“For the foregoing reasons, the motion for judgment on the pleadings is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART.”
“IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Defendant’s Motion to Strike Portions of Plaintiffs Complaint is DENIED.”
“IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiff is GRANTED leave to file his First Amended Complaint.”
“IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Defendants’ motion to dismiss (DN 5) is GRANTED.”
“For the foregoing reasons, the motion to remand is GRANTED”
“the motion to strike is DENIED as moot.”
“IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART.”
“IT IS ORDERED THAT Plaintiffs Motion for a Preliminary Injunction (DN 3) is DENIED.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
The located historical matters included foreclosure, prisoner civil-rights, benefits, insurance, contract, employment, ERISA, and government-collection disputes. The sampled records did not contain usable motion timelines.
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 | 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2023 | 1 | 0 |
| Mar 2023 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2022 | 0 | 4 |
| Mar 2022 | 0 | 5 |
| Sep 2021 | 0 | 6 |
| Mar 2021 | 0 | 4 |
| Sep 2020 | 0 | 7 |
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 Russell 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.