Susan K. DeClercq
How Judge DeClercq rules, drawn from 41 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge DeClercq
Susan Kim DeClercq is a judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. Appointed by President Joseph R. Biden, Judge DeClercq received a commission on November 9, 2023.
Judge DeClercq's practices and standing orders
Rules for cases before Judge DeClercq, as published on the court's website (checked October 8, 2026). Judges revise these often, so confirm the current version on the court's site before you file.
- Practice Guidelines ↗
- Sample Stipulation for Designating Alternate Jurors by Random Draw ↗
- Sample Civil Consent Form ↗
Key rules
Filing
The parties must provide the Court with a Judge's Copy of only dispositive motions and briefs, including all exhibits.
“The parties must provide the Court with a Judge's Copy of only dispositive motions and briefs, including all exhibits.”
Motions
The parties should notify the Court's case manager by telephone (313.234.5135) immediately upon filing a motion for a temporary restraining order or for a preliminary injunction.
“The parties should notify the Court's case manager by telephone (313.234.5135) immediately upon filing a motion for a temporary restraining order or for a preliminary injunction.”
Conferences
Requests to modify or to enlarge the calendar dates must be made by motion or a stipulation and, if the proposed dates affect the trial date, a waiver under the Speedy Trial Act.
“Requests to modify or to enlarge the calendar dates must be made by motion or a stipulation and, if the proposed dates affect the trial date, a waiver under the Speedy Trial Act.”
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 8, 2026).
- Procedures for Access, Service, and Management of Sealed Documents ↗
- Procedures for the Filing, Service and Management of Highly Sensitive Documents ↗
- Standing Order for Discovery and Inspection and Fixing Motion Cut-Off Date in Criminal Cases ↗
- Pro Se Filings (Revised & Amended) ↗
- Filing a New Civil Case or Civil Initiating Papers Under Seal ↗
How Judge DeClercq decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
Procedural preferences
Permitted alternative service after documented personal service attempts failed and the proposed methods were likely to give actual notice.
“Plaintiff has demonstrated that service cannot be made by personal service. See ECF No. 14 at PageID.220–21. And Plaintiff’s alternate -service proposals are likely to provide actual notice to Alzokary.”
Cautions
After repeated discovery noncompliance, a dismissal request can succeed if extensions, compulsion orders, and lesser sanctions have failed. In Clayton, the court dismissed the third amended complaint with prejudice after those measures did not secure compliance.
“At bottom, this Court has imposed lesser sanctions, but still Clayton and Attorney Wine continued to disregard court orders and discovery obligations.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“it is ORDERED that Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment, ECF No. 20, is GRANTED. Plaintiff's Second Amended Complaint, ECF No. 12, is DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE.”
“Defendant's motion for summary judgment, ECF No. 21, is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART. The motion is GRANTED with respect to Plaintiff's disparate-treatment claims, and so Counts I, II, and III of Plaintiff's complaint, ECF No. 1, are DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE. The motion is DENIED with respect to Plaintiff's retaliation claims, insofar as they relate to Defendant's failure to exempt Plaintiff from termination.”
“Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment, ECF No. 16, is DENIED... Given that reasonable minds can disagree on which policy applies to claims such as Plaintiff's, Judge Ivy's recommendation that this issue should be determined by the fact finder—not on summary judgment—is correct.”
“Defendant's Motion to Dismiss, ECF No. 17, is GRANTED... Plaintiff's Complaint, ECF No. 1, is DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE.”
“Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment, ECF No. 11, is DENIED”
“Accordingly, it is ORDERED that Defendant's Motion to Dismiss Plaintiff's Complaint, ECF No. 4, is DENIED AS MOOT.”
“Further, it is ORDERED that Defendant City of Detroit's Motion to Dismiss, ECF No. 15, and Defendant Wayne County Treasurer's Motion to Dismiss, ECF No. 20, are GRANTED. Plaintiff's Complaint, ECF No. 1, is therefore DISMISSED.”
“ORDER ADOPTING REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION (ECF No. 68), GRANTING DEFENDANTS’ MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT (ECF No. 58)”
“Accordingly, it is ORDERED that MSP's Motion to Dismiss, ECF No. 9, is GRANTED. To that end, all claims against MSP are DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE.”
“Defendant's Motion in Limine, ECF No. 164, and Defendant's Second Motion for Summary Judgment, ECF No. 173, are DENIED AS MOOT.”
“ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANTS' MOTION TO DISMISS (ECF No. 33), DISMISSING PLAINTIFFS' COMPLAINT (ECF No. 28), AND DENYING AS MOOT PLAINTIFFS' MOTION FOR A PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION (ECF No. 16).”
“Further, it is ORDERED that Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment, ECF No. 44, is GRANTED, and Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment, ECF No. 30, is DENIED. Plaintiff's Complaint, ECF No. 1, is therefore DISMISSED.”
“For this reason, Jones's objections do not provide a basis to disturb this Court's adoption of the magistrate judge's well-reasoned R&R. Accordingly, it is ORDERED that Jones's motion for relief from judgment, ECF No. 47, is DENIED.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
The six sampled dockets include employment, administrative, commercial, discovery, habeas, and settlement disputes. Their selection for readable motion rulings does not describe the overall caseload mix.
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 | 6 |
| 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 | 3 |
| Report | Motions over six months | Cases over three years |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | 6 | 3 |
| Sep 2025 | 2 | 2 |
| Mar 2025 | 0 | 3 |
| Sep 2024 | 5 | 0 |
| Mar 2024 | 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.
How long civil cases take in this court
For the whole of U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, not for Judge DeClercq: 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 | 2,926 | 8.3 months |
| Closed with no court action | 410 | 2.9 months |
| Closed before pretrial | 1,246 | 4.1 months |
| Closed during or after pretrial | 1,252 | 15.3 months |
| Closed during trial | 18 | 35.8 months |
| 12 months ending | Cases closed | Median time |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 2,926 | 8.3 months |
| Sep 2024 | 2,615 | 7.9 months |
| Sep 2023 | 2,616 | 8.5 months |
| Sep 2022 | 2,541 | 9.2 months |
| Sep 2021 | 2,405 | 10.2 months |
| Sep 2020 | 2,677 | 9 months |
| Sep 2019 | 3,237 | 8.6 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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