Donald Clark Nugent

United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio district Senior status Appointed by Bill Clinton (Democratic) 12 signed orders read

How Judge Nugent decides

Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.

Procedural preferences

Does not readily revisit prior dismissal rulings: denies successive motions for reconsideration and leaves the earlier orders in place, while also declining to award sanctions on the related motion.

“Plaintiff's Second Motion to Reconsider Order Dismissing Individual Defendants (ECF #27) is DENIED ... This Court leaves in place its earlier rulings.”

Signed rulings

A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.

Megan McGill, et al. v. Prudential Insurance Company of America, et al.
Summary judgment (defendant) Denied

“Accordingly, the Motion for Summary Judgment filed by Defendant, Gerald McGill, is DENIED.”

Mary Neuhoff, et al. v. Hospitality Goals LLC, et al.
Summary judgment (plaintiff) Granted

“Plaintiffs' Motion for Summary Judgment (ECF #15) against Defendant Zovkie and default judgment against Defendant Hospitality Goals, LLC are granted and Plaintiffs are awarded damages ...”

Default judgment (plaintiff) Granted

“Plaintiffs' Motion for Summary Judgment (ECF #15) against Defendant Zovkie and default judgment against Defendant Hospitality Goals, LLC are granted ...”

Scarla Smith v. Steris Corporation, et al.
Motion for reconsideration (plaintiff) Denied

“Plaintiff's Second Motion to Reconsider Order Dismissing Individual Defendants (ECF #27) is DENIED ... This Court leaves in place its earlier rulings.”

Motion for sanctions (defendant) Denied

“Defendant STERIS Corporation's Motion for Sanctions (ECF #28) is also DENIED.”

Gary E. Daniels, Sr. v. CoreCivic, Inc., et al.
Summary judgment (defendant) Granted

“The Motion for Summary Judgment filed by Defendants, CoreCivie, Inc., Shannon Swanson, M.D., and Warden Douglas Fender (Docket #46) is hereby GRANTED. This case is hereby TERMINATED.”

United States v. Ronald DiPietro
Motions to dismiss (defendant) Denied

“The motion is, therefore, DENIED. (ECF #200).”

MXR Imaging, Inc. v. Zavagno
1:24-cv-01269 · 2026-07-07
Summary judgment (plaintiff) Denied

“Plaintiff/Counterelaim Defendant MXR Imaging, Inc.'s Motion for Summary Judgment (ECF #78) is DENIED”

Summary judgment (defendant) Denied

“Defendant/Counterclaim Plaintiffs David Zavagno and Universal Systems Diagnostics, Ine.'s Motion for Summary Judgment (ECF #80) is DENIED”

Treadway v. Commissioner of Social Security
1:25-cv-01744 · 2026-07-01
Social security appeal (plaintiff) Denied

“The Commissioner of Social Security's final determination denying Plaintiff, Elizabeth Treadway's Application for Supplemental Security Income is hereby AFFIRMED.”

Thomas v. Beachwood City School District Board of Education
1:25-cv-02167 · 2026-06-23
Judgment on the pleadings (defendant) Granted

“Defendant Beachwood City School District Board of Education's Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings (ECF #42) is GRANTED, and the case is DISMISSED.”

Motion for leave to amend (plaintiff) Denied

“the Magistrate Judge's ruling (ECF #60) denying Plaintiffs Motion for Leave to File a Second Amended Complaint”

Yoo v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.
1:25-cv-00403 · 2025-06-05
Motions to dismiss (defendant) Granted in part

“Defendant's motion to dismiss is granted in part. All claims concerning Credit Card No. 3555 are dismissed pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6).”

McGill v. Prudential Insurance Company of America
1:24-cv-00916 · 2025-06-13
Motion for leave to amend (plaintiff) Granted

“The Motion for Leave to File First Amended Complaint filed by Plaintiffs (Docket #89) is hereby GRANTED.”

Betsa v. City of Avon Lake, Ohio
1:25-cv-02478 · 2026-02-05
Motion for temporary restraining order (plaintiff) Denied

“Mr. Betsa's Emergency Motion for Temporary Restraining Order (Docket #23) is hereby DENIED.”

Bobak v. Commissioner of Social Security
1:24-cv-02165 · 2026-02-03
Social security appeal (plaintiff) Denied

“this Court ADOPTS the findings of fact and conclusions of law set forth by Magistrate Judge Clay over Mr. Bobak's objections”

Caseload & timing

From public federal docket records for this judge.

Median case duration in the sampled dockets: 276 days (N = 6).

Enumerated from the docket records (filed 2021-2023). Senior-judge docket is criminal-heavy (US v. Gracia, Irons, Jones, Sims, Mauldin, Baldwin, Saris, McGhee -- drug/firearm/fraud) plus Social Security appeals (Roddy, Wiseman -- referred to MJ Amanda M. Knapp), civil rights/ADA-employment (Iannuzzi; Walker v. Phelps 1983), TCPA (Pavelka), and U.S.-plaintiff tax-lien (US v. Halo Investments). Random-referral magistrates named at assignment: James E. Grimes Jr. and Amanda M. Knapp; MJ Reuben J. Sheperd authored an adopted R&R (Daniels v. CoreCivic).

Put Judge Nugent's record to work

Ezel drafts and answers grounded in this exact profile: how Judge Nugent actually rules, not a generic AI guess.

Opens in Ezel Pro. Every answer is grounded in Judge Nugent's own signed orders and cites them.