Donald Clark Nugent
How Judge Nugent rules, drawn from 17 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Nugent
Donald C. Nugent is a judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. Appointed by President William J. Clinton, Judge Nugent received a commission on June 30, 1995. Judge Nugent assumed senior status on January 1, 2017.
Judge Nugent's practices and standing orders
Rules for cases before Judge Nugent, 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.
- Case Management Conference Order ↗
- Civil Trial Order - Jury ↗
- Civil Trial Order - Non Jury ↗
- Criminal Trial Order ↗
Key rules
Conferences
Lead counsel must participate in the case management conference.
“Lead counsel must participate in the CMC.”
Conferences
A request to excuse lead counsel from the conference must be filed at least seven days beforehand.
“a written motion to make other arrangements and excuse the participation of lead counsel must be filed no later than seven (7) days prior to the CMC.”
Conferences
The plaintiff must provide the defendant a written damages demand at least one week before the case management conference.
“Plaintiff(s) shall provide defendant(s) with a written demand to include a description and monetary breakdown of the damages claimed no later than one week prior to the date of the CMC.”
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 Nugent decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
Procedural preferences
In Scarla Smith v. Steris, Nugent denied the plaintiff’s second reconsideration motion and left his earlier rulings in place.
“Plaintiff's Second Motion to Reconsider Order Dismissing Individual Defendants (ECF #27) is DENIED ... This Court leaves in place its earlier rulings.”
In MXR, the court denied a discovery motion filed two months after the cutoff and two weeks before trial because the movant gave no compelling reason for the delay.
“MXR also presents no compelling reason to justify granting its request.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“Accordingly, the Motion for Summary Judgment filed by Defendant, Gerald McGill, is DENIED.”
“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 ...”
“Plaintiffs' Motion for Summary Judgment (ECF #15) against Defendant Zovkie and default judgment against Defendant Hospitality Goals, LLC are granted ...”
“Plaintiff's Second Motion to Reconsider Order Dismissing Individual Defendants (ECF #27) is DENIED ... This Court leaves in place its earlier rulings.”
“Defendant STERIS Corporation's Motion for Sanctions (ECF #28) is also DENIED.”
“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.”
“The motion is, therefore, DENIED. (ECF #200).”
“Plaintiff/Counterelaim Defendant MXR Imaging, Inc.'s Motion for Summary Judgment (ECF #78) is DENIED”
“Defendant/Counterclaim Plaintiffs David Zavagno and Universal Systems Diagnostics, Ine.'s Motion for Summary Judgment (ECF #80) is DENIED”
“The Commissioner of Social Security's final determination denying Plaintiff, Elizabeth Treadway's Application for Supplemental Security Income is hereby AFFIRMED.”
“Defendant Beachwood City School District Board of Education's Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings (ECF #42) is GRANTED, and the case is DISMISSED.”
“the Magistrate Judge's ruling (ECF #60) denying Plaintiffs Motion for Leave to File a Second Amended Complaint”
“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).”
“The Motion for Leave to File First Amended Complaint filed by Plaintiffs (Docket #89) is hereby GRANTED.”
“Mr. Betsa's Emergency Motion for Temporary Restraining Order (Docket #23) is hereby 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).
A sample of cases filed from 2021 through 2023 shows that Nugent's senior-status docket is weighted toward federal criminal matters, alongside Social Security appeals, civil-rights and disability-employment suits, consumer-communications claims, and federal tax-lien enforcement. Some civil matters proceeded through magistrate-judge referrals.
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 | 4 |
| 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | 4 | 0 |
| Sep 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2024 | 1 | 0 |
| Mar 2024 | 2 | 0 |
| Sep 2023 | 0 | 1 |
| Mar 2023 | 0 | 3 |
| Sep 2022 | 2 | 2 |
| Mar 2022 | 1 | 2 |
| Sep 2021 | 12 | 3 |
| Mar 2021 | 13 | 2 |
| Sep 2020 | 1 | 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 United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, not for Judge Nugent: 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 | 2,048 | 7.1 months |
| Closed with no court action | 394 | 3.3 months |
| Closed before pretrial | 1,035 | 5.9 months |
| Closed during or after pretrial | 607 | 11.4 months |
| Closed during trial | 12 | 18 months |
| 12 months ending | Cases closed | Median time |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 2,048 | 7.1 months |
| Sep 2024 | 2,008 | 7.4 months |
| Sep 2023 | 2,137 | 8.5 months |
| Sep 2022 | 2,330 | 9.8 months |
| Sep 2021 | 2,432 | 9.3 months |
| Sep 2020 | 2,788 | 10.3 months |
| Sep 2019 | 3,158 | 9.9 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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