Jude Philip Calabrese
How Judge Calabrese rules, drawn from 29 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Calabrese
J. Philip Calabrese is a judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. Appointed by President Donald J. Trump, Judge Calabrese received a commission on December 3, 2020.
Judge Calabrese's practices and standing orders
Rules for cases before Judge Calabrese, 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.
- Civil Standing Order (updated January 2, 2026) ↗
- Criminal Pretrial and Trial Order (updated January 2, 2026) ↗
- Rule 26(f) Report of the Parties (updated January 2, 2026) ↗
Key rules
Filing
A motion to amend or an amendment as of right must include a redline or comparable document showing the changes.
“Any motion for leave to amend or an amended pleading filed as of right shall attach as an exhibit a redline, document showing track changes, or other comparison showing all amendments or proposed amendments to the original pleading.”
Motions
A defendant must answer the complaint even if it files or plans to file a Rule 12 motion.
“The Court requires the filing of an answer to the complaint regardless of whether the defendant has filed or plans to file a motion under Rule 12.”
Trial
Once set, a trial date changes only for extraordinary circumstances.
“Once the Court and the parties schedule a trial in any case, the trial date will not change absent extraordinary circumstances.”
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 Calabrese decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In an armored-carrier action, Calabrese granted leave to amend after finding no prejudice to the opposing party under Rule 15.
“Under Rule 15's liberal amendment policy, the Court discerns no prejudice that would bar amendment and GRANTS leave for its filing.”
In a securities enforcement case, Calabrese required a pleaded primary violation and factual support for the claimed failure to maintain internal controls.
“But without an actionable misrepresentation or omission, and because the complaint fails to make anything other than a conclusory allegation that Mr. Jones failed to design or implement sufficient internal controls, Count 6 also fails to state a claim.”
Procedural preferences
In the reviewed arbitration dispute, participation under the court’s schedule did not waive the employer’s arbitration right when it had asserted that right throughout the case.
“Compliance with a court’s orders and procedures to ensure an orderly disposition of a motion to compel arbitration does not waive the right to arbitrate.”
In an insurance coverage case, he denied remand after finding that the defendant filed its removal notice on the next business day when the thirty-day deadline fell on a Sunday.
“The record shows that Defendant’s counsel filed the notice of removal on June 8, 2026. (Id.) Therefore, the removal was timely.”
Cautions
In Patterson v. UnitedHealthcare, Calabrese denied leave to amend because the proposed claims were futile.
“Accordingly, the Court DENIES Plaintiff's motion to amend as futile.”
In the reviewed debt collection complaint, describing the defendant as a collection company without facts showing it met the statutory definition of a debt collector was insufficient to state a claim.
“Such a bare allegation is not enough to state a claim under the FDCPA.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“the Court GRANTS Defendants' motion to dismiss. Specifically, the Court DISMISSES WITH PREJUDICE Counts I, II, III, VI, and IX and declines to exercise supplemental jurisdiction and DISMISSES WITHOUT PREJUDICE Counts IV, V, VII, and VIII.”
“Accordingly, the Court DENIES Plaintiff's motion to amend as futile.”
“Under Rule 15's liberal amendment policy, the Court discerns no prejudice that would bar amendment and GRANTS leave for its filing.”
“As a result of granting leave to amend, Defendant Diebold Inc.'s motion to dismiss (ECF No. 63), Defendant Brinks Company's and Dunbar Armored Inc.'s motion to dismiss (ECF No. 64), and Defendant Loomis Armored, Inc.'s motion for judgment on the pleadings (ECF No. 67) are DENIED as MOOT, WITHOUT PREJUDICE.”
“For the foregoing reasons, the Court DENIES the City of Cleveland's motion for judgment on the pleadings (ECF No. 38).”
“the Court ... DENIES her motion to vacate the judgment (ECF No. 28).”
“For the foregoing reasons, the Court DENIES Defendant's motion for summary judgment and GRANTS Plaintiff's motion. Further, the Court ISSUES A DECLARATORY JUDGMENT and PERMANENTLY ENJOINS Cleveland State from violating Mr. Ogletree's Fourth Amendment rights as stated in this Amended Opinion and Order.”
“For the foregoing reasons, the Court GRANTS IN PART and DENIES IN PART Defendant's motion for judgment on the pleadings. The Court DISMISSES Count One except as to Karnstein's representation on or about October 10, 2017 and otherwise DENIES the motion.”
“For the foregoing reasons, the Court DENIES Defendant's motion to dismiss.”
“the Court ADOPTS the Report and Recommendation (ECF No. 28), GRANTS Defendants' motion to dismiss (ECF No. 27), and DISMISSES the action WITHOUT PREJUDICE.”
“the Court GRANTS Defendant's motion to dismiss (ECF No. 4)”
“DENIES Plaintiff's motion to reverse judgment (ECF No. 6).”
“the Court GRANTS IN PART Plaintiff's motion for civil contempt and sanctions (ECF No. 99). Specifically, the Court DENIES the motion to the extent it seeks a finding of contempt, but GRANTS Plaintiff's motion for discovery sanctions under Rule 37(b)(2)(A).”
“the Court DENIES Plaintiff's motion for disqualification.”
“as a motion for reconsideration and DENIES that motion”
“the Court GRANTS Defendant’s motion to dismiss”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Median case duration in the sampled dockets: 406.0 days (N = 26).
- The sampled 2021-2022 civil docket includes civil-rights and wrongful-conviction claims, prisoner litigation, habeas petitions, racketeering allegations, employment and employee-benefit disputes, contracts, product liability, family-and-medical-leave claims, copyright, and subpoena matters.
- Magistrate Judge Jonathan D. Greenberg appears in one sampled referral. The sample is not a complete caseload census.
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 | 13 |
| 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 | 6 |
| Report | Motions over six months | Cases over three years |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | 13 | 6 |
| Sep 2025 | 20 | 6 |
| Mar 2025 | 10 | 4 |
| Sep 2024 | 5 | 10 |
| Mar 2024 | 3 | 10 |
| Sep 2023 | 7 | 6 |
| Mar 2023 | 3 | 16 |
| Sep 2022 | 14 | 7 |
| Mar 2022 | 36 | 5 |
| Sep 2021 | 29 | 1 |
| Mar 2021 | 0 | 1 |
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 Calabrese: 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).
Draft for Judge Calabrese with the record in hand
Ezel grounds your drafting and research in this profile: what has persuaded Judge Calabrese, and what has not, cited to the signed orders.
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