Stephen Robert Clark Sr.
How Judge Sr. decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
On summary judgment, decides on the admissible record and disregards unsupported, self-serving, or opinion testimony. Build the opposition on specific, supported facts, not characterizations.
“Self-serving, conclusory statements without support are insufficient to defeat summary judgment.”
In employment cases, gives weight to the 'same-actor' inference and replacement-within-the-protected-class as evidence that the protected trait did not drive the adverse action.
“the record reflects that Hembrador performed below average, PruGen replaced her with a woman, the same individual hired and fired her, and no evidence suggests that Pinto’s decision to terminate Hembrador stemmed from or was influenced by discriminatory animus.”
Procedural preferences
Polices subject-matter jurisdiction on his own motion. Once all federal claims drop out of a removed case, expect a sua sponte remand and a refusal to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over the state-law remnants.
“All federal questions have been dismissed from this case, and the Court declines to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over the remaining state law claims. Accordingly, the Court remands this matter to the Circuit Court of St. Louis County.”
Resolves doubts about removal jurisdiction in favor of remand and will sua sponte remand where the well-pleaded petition presents no federal question, even if the removing defendant characterized it as a federal claim.
“Because the petition fails to present a federal question, this Court lacks subject-matter jurisdiction and, on that basis, sua sponte remands this case back to the Circuit Court of Franklin County.”
Cautions
Do not raise a new claim or theory for the first time at summary judgment; the proper route is a Rule 15(a) motion to amend. A claim debuting in an opposition brief will be disregarded.
“A party cannot raise a new claim at the summary judgment stage.”
Allegations and relief must appear in the operative complaint/petition itself; arguments first raised in later motions or briefs will not be treated as amending the pleading.
“statements raised for the first time in motions or briefs cannot amend those in petitions.”
Motion outcomes
Counted from classified signed orders only. Percentages are shown only where the sample is large enough to be meaningful; smaller samples are reported as raw counts.
| Motions to stay N = 2 |
Denied: 1Moot / procedural: 1 | counts only |
| Motions to dismiss N = 2 |
Granted: 1Denied: 1 | counts only |
| Summary judgment N = 1 |
Granted: 1 | counts only |
| Motion to appoint special master N = 1 |
Denied: 1 | counts only |
| Motions to remand N = 1 |
Denied: 1 | counts only |
| Motion for voluntary dismissal N = 1 |
Granted: 1 | counts only |
| Motion for attorney fees N = 1 |
Denied: 1 | counts only |
A "1 of 1" is one ruling, not a tendency. Treat small samples as illustrative, not predictive.
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“In sum, the Court grants [44] Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment on all counts.”
“Accordingly, the Court denies Clark’s [5] motion for appointment of special master.”
“IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Plaintiff’s Motion to Extend Stay of Court Proceedings [43] is DENIED as moot.”
“This matter comes before the Court on Plaintiff Carla Been’s Motion to Remand [25]. The Court denies the Motion.”
“While the logic of the rule in Smoot compels dismissal of the case, even applying the test set out in SnugglyCat, the Court concludes that it should grant Brotherhood’s motion.”
“For the reasons discussed below, the Court concludes 28 U.S.C. § 2255 times bar this case and grants the United States’s motion to dismiss.”
“Accordingly, the Court sustains, adopts, and incorporates Judge Holmes’s [39] Report and Recommendation and denies Hampton’s [24] Motion to Dismiss.”
“This matter comes before the Court on [21] Defendant Arronda Williams’s Motion to Stay Proceedings, to Stay Discovery, and for a Protective Order. The Court denies the motion.”
“Now, Defendants move the Court to award them attorneys’ fees incurred in prosecuting their Motion to Dismiss. See doc. 34. The Court denies their motion for fees without prejudice.”