Catherine D. Perry
How Judge Perry rules, drawn from 25 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Perry
Catherine D. Perry is a judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri. Appointed by President William J. Clinton, Judge Perry received a commission on October 7, 1994. Judge Perry assumed senior status on December 31, 2018.
Judge Perry's practices and standing orders
Rules for cases before Judge Perry, 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
Filing
Courtesy copies of bulky summary judgment motions are welcome; the judge does not need copies of other filings.
“Courtesy copies of bulky summary judgment motions are helpful, but I do not need courtesy copies of other filings.”
Filing
Include the ECF header on every page of any courtesy copies.
“Any courtesy copies must include the ECF Header on all pages (which includes the ECF document number, page number and filing date).”
Discovery
Meet and confer before filing a discovery motion and certify that effort.
“Before filing any discovery-related motion, you must meet and confer with opposing counsel in an attempt to resolve the dispute, and your motion must contain a certification that you have done so.”
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 Perry decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In Malloy’s FLSA retaliation case, Perry required evidence connecting the termination to protected reporting. Disputing two employer explanations did not establish that the reports were the actual reason for the termination.
“Even assuming that Malloy could discredit two of defendants’ several reasons for terminating her employment, she does not point to any evidence that would permit the inference that she was terminated because of her reports to the U.S. DOL.”
In United States v. Jones, the court denied a sentence reduction after finding the defendant offered no new circumstances beyond those considered at sentencing.
“Jones has not presented anything in addition to what I already considered”
Procedural preferences
In Service Employees International Union Local 2000 Health and Welfare Fund v. Agency for Community Transit, the court denied a Rule 12(b)(6) motion because resolving the defendant’s arguments required matters outside the pleadings.
“Because resolution of the issues raised by Community Transit’s motion requires consideration of matters outside the pleadings, I may not determine them on a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss. I will therefore deny the motion.”
In Myers v. Sander, the court denied a request to file a second amended complaint because the plaintiffs supplied no proposed pleading and did not describe their amendment or explain how it would cure the identified defects.
“I will also deny their request to file a Second Amended Complaint because they have not attached a copy of the proposed complaint, nor have they described the substance of their proposed amendment or explained how amendment would cure the defects I have described above.”
In Malloy, the court withheld a sanctions fee amount because the submission did not identify billers, roles, and hourly rates or explain rate differences. The party seeking fees was ordered to provide an accurate, detailed amended statement.
“Without any explanation for those discrepancies or any identification of who performed the work and at what rates, I am unable to determine a reasonable fee.”
In Gray v. Rice, the court denied default judgment without prejudice because the record lacked proof of proper service on one defendant and evidence to support the requested relief.
“the record lacks sufficient proof of proper service of summons and complaint upon defendant Conway”
Cautions
In Turnell Corp. v. United States Fidelity & Guaranty Co., the court found the defendant’s privilege log too vague to assess its privilege and work-product objections. It directed the defendant to submit the claims diary for in camera review with a detailed explanation of the claimed privileges and to serve a revised log.
“the privilege log it provided to plaintiffs in support of these asserted privileges is woefully inadequate and does not comply with Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(5)(A). As such, it is impossible for the plaintiffs and the Court to determine if the privileges are properly asserted. Defendant cannot assert blanket objections and privileges without providing the information necessary to determine whether it is actually entitled to do so.”
In Turnell Corp. v. United States Fidelity & Guaranty Co., Perry rebuked defense counsel for an email containing unprofessional language and threats, and warned both sides against contumacious conduct in that case.
“The Court disapproves of defense counsel’s lack of civility and will not tolerate contumacious conduct from either party in this case.”
In Greene v. First to Serve, after dismissing the case for improper venue and after affirmance on appeal, Perry denied the plaintiff’s motion to set aside judgment and directed the clerk to return future filings in that closed case.
“IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Clerk of Court shall return any future filings in this closed case to Plaintiff without filing.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the joint motion to stay discovery [#22] is denied as moot.”
“IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that defendant’s motion to quash subpoena duces tecum [#17-1] and motion for sanctions [#17-4] are denied”
“defendant’s motion to quash notice of mediation [#17-2] and motion to amend case management order [#17-3] are denied as moot in light of the above ruling”
“IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that plaintiff’s motion to compel [#14] is granted in part and denied in part as set out above”
“IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that plaintiffs’ motion to dismiss [#7] is denied.”
“IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that plaintiffs’ motion to add a party [#28] is denied.”
“IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that plaintiff's motion to proceed in forma pauperis [ECF No. 3] is GRANTED.”
“IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that defendant Agency for Community Transit, Inc.’s Motion to Dismiss [7] is DENIED.”
“IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that plaintiff’s motion to suppress evidence [Doc. 2] is DENIED, without prejudice, as premature.”
“IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the motion to set aside default [21] is granted, and the Clerk’s Entry of Default dated March 18, 2025 [19], is vacated.”
“IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that defendant’s motion for leave to file a motion to dismiss [22] is granted”
“IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiff Cedric Greene’s Motion to Set Aside Judgment and Objections is DENIED. [Doc. 16]”
“IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that defendant Riverview Gardens School District's unopposed Motion to Dismiss Plaintiff's Complaint [8] is GRANTED.”
“IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that defendants’ Motion to Strike Certain of Plaintiffs’ Witnesses or, in the Alternative, to Bar Use of Late-Produced Material and Reopen Discovery [1655] is DENIED.”
“IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that plaintiff Antoine Lee Boyle’s Motion for the Appointment of Counsel [72] is DENIED without prejudice.”
“IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that movant Daniel Henderson’s motion to vacate, set aside, or correct his sentence under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 [1] 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 | 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 | 1 |
| Report | Motions over six months | Cases over three years |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | 0 | 1 |
| Sep 2025 | 0 | 1 |
| Mar 2025 | 16 | 2 |
| Sep 2024 | 18 | 2 |
| Mar 2024 | 18 | 1 |
| Sep 2023 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2023 | 0 | 2 |
| Sep 2022 | 18 | 3 |
| Mar 2022 | 2 | 3 |
| Sep 2021 | 6 | 3 |
| Mar 2021 | 0 | 6 |
| Sep 2020 | 1 | 3 |
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 United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, not for Judge Perry: 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 | 1,561 | 6 months |
| Closed with no court action | 502 | 4.3 months |
| Closed before pretrial | 1,031 | 7 months |
| Closed during or after pretrial | 16 | 15.3 months |
| Closed during trial | 12 | 31.2 months |
| 12 months ending | Cases closed | Median time |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 1,561 | 6 months |
| Sep 2024 | 1,525 | 6.6 months |
| Sep 2023 | 1,323 | 7 months |
| Sep 2022 | 1,466 | 10.6 months |
| Sep 2021 | 1,424 | 8.8 months |
| Sep 2020 | 1,950 | 5.5 months |
| Sep 2019 | 2,913 | 2.2 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).
Draft for Judge Perry with the record in hand
Ezel grounds your drafting and research in this profile: what has persuaded Judge Perry, and what has not, cited to the signed orders.
Opens in Ezel Pro.
- Grounded in Judge Perry's own signed orders
- Cites every source it relies on, so you can verify it
- Chat, drafting and research in one workspace