Caroline Helen Gentry

How Judge Gentry rules, drawn from 9 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.

Court
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio
Position
magistrate
Commissioned
2022-02-07
Education
Kalamazoo College (B.A.); Yale Law School (J.D.)
Signed orders read
9

How Judge Gentry decides

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

What persuades

In Social Security appeals, recommends reversal and remand where the ALJ mishandled a medical opinion or the residual-functional-capacity analysis.

“IT IS THEREFORE RECOMMENDED THAT: 1. Plaintiff's Statement of Errors (Doc. No. 9) be GRANTED; 2. The Court REVERSE the Commissioner's non-disability determination; ... 4. This matter be REMANDED to the Social Security Administration under Sentence Four of 42 U.S.C. 405(g)”

Procedural preferences

When a summary-judgment motion is unopposed, Gentry applies the rule that the court need not search the record for the nonmoving party; unsworn allegations do not create a genuine dispute of material fact.

“The undersigned Magistrate Judge therefore RECOMMENDS that Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment (ECF No. 48) be GRANTED.”

Gentry compares overlapping complaints and recommends dismissal when a later action duplicates the defendants, events, requested relief, and claims already pending in an earlier case. A litigant should consolidate related allegations rather than maintain parallel federal actions.

“The Court need not, and should not, expend judicial resources on both of these cases.”

Cautions

Declines to remand a Social Security appeal on an undefined-'superficial'-interaction theory where the ALJ built an accurate and logical bridge supported by substantial evidence.

“IT IS THEREFORE RECOMMENDED THAT: 1. Plaintiff's Statement of Errors (Doc. No. 9) be OVERRULED; 2. The Court AFFIRM the Commissioner's non-disability determination”

Signed rulings

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

Miller v. Parish
· 2023-06-29
Summary judgment (defendant) Granted

“The undersigned Magistrate Judge therefore RECOMMENDS that Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment (ECF No. 48) be GRANTED.”

Hill v. Chambers-Smith
· 2025-08-29
Summary judgment (defendant) Granted

“the undersigned Magistrate Judge RECOMMENDS that the District Judge GRANT Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment, DISMISS Plaintiff's remaining access-to-courts claim”

Summary judgment (plaintiff) Moot / procedural

“DENY Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment and Motion for Subpoena AS MOOT, and TERMINATE this case.”

J.O.B. v. United States
· 2024-08-30
Motions to dismiss (defendant) Granted

“the undersigned RECOMMENDS that the Court DISMISS this habeas corpus case for lack of jurisdiction. ... The Court should GRANT Defendants' motions to dismiss”

Mirgon v. Commissioner of Social Security (John M.)
· 2024-08-30
Social security appeal (plaintiff) Granted

“IT IS THEREFORE RECOMMENDED THAT: 1. Plaintiff's Statement of Errors (Doc. No. 9) be GRANTED; 2. The Court REVERSE the Commissioner's non-disability determination; ... 4. This matter be REMANDED to the Social Security Administration under Sentence Four of 42 U.S.C. 405(g)”

Deanna B. v. Commissioner of Social Security
· 2026-06-01
Social security appeal (plaintiff) Denied

“IT IS THEREFORE RECOMMENDED THAT: 1. Plaintiff's Statement of Errors (Doc. No. 9) be OVERRULED; 2. The Court AFFIRM the Commissioner's non-disability determination”

Harvey v. City of Troy, Ohio
3:26-cv-00014-TMR-CHG · 2026-06-26

After comparing the plaintiff's two pending Section 1983 actions, Gentry concluded that the later case involved the same defendants, incident, relief, and overlapping claims as the narrowed amended complaint in the first case. Invoking the court's inherent authority to avoid duplicative federal litigation, she recommended dismissal of the second case and denial of leave to appeal in forma pauperis. Verbatim disposition: "The undersigned therefore RECOMMENDS that the Court DISMISS this second case, Case No. 3:26-cv-14 as DUPLICATIVE of Case No. 3:25-cv-428."

Travis Golden v. Correctional Officer Hubner et al.
2:23-cv-00637-MHW-CHG · 2026-07-29
Summary judgment (defendant) Granted

“the undersigned RECOMMENDS that Defendant Hubner’s Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. No. 38) be GRANTED in its entirety”

Christopher D. Bell v. John Doe Hoover et al.
1:26-cv-00021-JPH-CHG · 2026-07-13
Motion for injunctive relief (plaintiff) Denied

“DENY the motion for injunctive relief without prejudice (Doc. No. 2);”

Motions to stay (plaintiff) Moot / procedural

“DENY the motion to stay and OVERRULE the objections as MOOT (Doc. No. 11).”

Objection to magistrate order (plaintiff) Moot / procedural
Motion for extension of time (plaintiff) Granted

“The undersigned GRANTS Plaintiff’s third motion for extension of time. (Doc. No. 14.)”

George T. v. Commissioner of the Social Security Administration
3:23-cv-00084-MJN-CHG · 2024-02-15
Social security appeal (plaintiff) Granted

“Plaintiff’s Statement of Errors (Doc. No. 7) be GRANTED;”

Caseload & timing

From public federal docket records for this judge.

A 2023-2026 sample of Judge Gentry's directly assigned work is dominated by Social Security appeals and criminal-duty search- and seizure-warrant matters. Her prisoner and other civil-rights merits work generally appears as recommendations in cases assigned to district judges. The sample is illustrative rather than a measured caseload distribution.

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