Robert Hardy Cleland
How Judge Cleland rules, drawn from 16 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
Judge Cleland no longer sits on this court. This profile is preserved as a historical record of how they ruled here.
About Judge Cleland
Robert Hardy Cleland is a senior judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. Appointed by President George H.W. Bush, Judge Cleland received a commission on June 19, 1990. He assumed senior status on February 28, 2013 and went inactive in September 2023.
How Judge Cleland decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In In-N-Out Burgers v. Doll N Burgers, he granted the plaintiff's trade-dress summary judgment motion in part and denied it in part.
“Plaintiff In-N-Out's motion for Summary Judgment (ECF No. 32) is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART.”
Procedural preferences
In Stanalajczo v. Esbri, he granted judgment on the pleadings for Esbri on the federal count and dismissed the remaining state-law claims without prejudice.
“Defendant Esbri's ‘Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings & for Summary Judgment’ (ECF No. 29) is GRANTED to the extent that he is entitled to judgment on the pleadings as it relates to Count I.”
Cautions
In Interquim v. Berg Imports, he denied Berg's motion for reconsideration and alternative request for interlocutory appeal certification.
“IT IS ORDERED that Berg's ‘Motion for Rehearing, or Reconsideration or, in the Alternative, to Certify An Order for Interlocutory Appeal’ (ECF No. 34) is DENIED.”
In a discovery-sanctions ruling, Cleland awarded fees for overbroad requests but considered the movants’ decision to wait until after judgment when setting the amount.
“the conduct of counsel is relevant to fashioning a reasonable sanction for discovery violations, particularly given Plaintiffs’ decision to move for sanctions post-judgment.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“Defendant Esbri's ‘Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings & for Summary Judgment’ (ECF No. 29) is GRANTED to the extent that he is entitled to judgment on the pleadings as it relates to Count I.”
“IT IS ORDERED that Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment (ECF No. 44) is GRANTED. A separate judgment will issue.”
“Plaintiff In-N-Out's motion for Summary Judgment (ECF No. 32) is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART.”
“IT IS ORDERED that Defendants' joint Motion for Summary Judgment (ECF No. 37) is DENIED.”
“Defendants' motion for summary judgment on the basis of exhaustion and to dismiss is GRANTED. Defendant Golson is DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE”
“Defendants' Christoff, Warren and Greason claims in their official capacities are DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE.”
“IT IS ORDERED that Plaintiff's ‘Motion for Entry of Judgment and for Return of Copies’ (ECF No. 52) is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART.”
“IT IS ORDERED that Berg's ‘Motion for Rehearing, or Reconsideration or, in the Alternative, to Certify An Order for Interlocutory Appeal’ (ECF No. 34) is DENIED.”
“the motions will be denied”
Acting on its own show-cause order, the court vacated its prior summary judgment and judgment against Salient, reopened the case, and set aside the clerk's entry of default after finding certified-mail service improper, while granting a short extension to perfect service. A pending motion for determination of defense costs and default judgment (ECF No. 37) was terminated as moot: quote "(ECF No. 37) is TERMINATED AS MOOT." No party motion was decided on the merits.
“request for early termination of supervised release (ECF No. 38) is DENIED WITHOUT PREJUDICE”
“petition for writ of habeas corpus (ECF 1) is DENIED”
“‘Motion for Award of Attorney Fees and Costs’ (ECF No. 194) is GRANTED.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
The reviewed matters include trademark, contract, employment-disability, prisoner civil-rights, and First Amendment cases. The sampled senior docket also includes warrant and miscellaneous duty matters, which are excluded from the merits mix. This is a descriptive sample, not a complete caseload count.
Pending matters in the official report
Judge Cleland was last listed in the Civil Justice Reform Act report as of September 30, 2023.
| 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 2023 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2023 | 0 | 2 |
| Sep 2022 | 0 | 2 |
| Mar 2022 | 8 | 5 |
| Sep 2021 | 0 | 4 |
| Mar 2021 | 0 | 3 |
| Sep 2020 | 0 | 0 |
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 Cleland 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.