Edmund Albert Sargus Jr.

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio district Appointed by Bill Clinton (Democratic) 15 signed orders read

How Judge Sargus decides

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

Procedural preferences

Under Local Rule 7.1 he presumes oral argument is unnecessary and decides motions on the briefs, denying requests for a hearing absent a real need.

“Defendants' Amended Motion Requesting Oral Argument (ECF No. 93) is DENIED and Defendants' original Motion (ECF No. 92) is DENIED as moot ... The Court concludes that oral argument is not essential to the fair resolution of the case.”

He manages trials to limit prejudice, bifurcating punitive-damages-only evidence from the liability phase in civil-rights cases.

“the Court GRANTS in part and DENIES in part Plaintiff's Motion to Bifurcate Punitive Damages. (ECF No. 211). ... The Court will bifurcate this trial, not trifurcate it.”

Cautions

A motion for reconsideration is denied absent an intervening change in controlling law or clear error; mere disagreement does not suffice.

“the Court DENIES Ancestry's Motion for Reconsideration. (ECF No. 69.) ... a change in Ninth Circuit caselaw is indisputably not a change in controlling law warranting the rare relief sought in a motion for reconsideration ... This Court is only bound by decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court and the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.”

In Title VII cases he dismisses claims against individual defendants, holding as a matter of law that the statute does not impose individual liability.

“Defendants' Motion to Dismiss is GRANTED (ECF No. 11) ... Because Defendants' individual liability is not a procedural or technical issue that can be corrected by refiling, the Court finds that dismissal with prejudice is appropriate ... The complaint against Defendants Morante and Holzapfel is DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE.”

Signed rulings

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

Little v. Holzapfel
· 2025-05-22
Motions to dismiss (defendant) Granted

“Defendants' Motion to Dismiss is GRANTED (ECF No. 11) ... Because Defendants' individual liability is not a procedural or technical issue that can be corrected by refiling, the Court finds that dismissal with prejudice is appropriate ... The complaint against Defendants Morante and Holzapfel is DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE.”

Motion for voluntary dismissal (plaintiff) Denied

“Mr. Little's Motion to Dismiss (ECF No. 14) is DENIED”

Motion to disqualify counsel (plaintiff) Moot / procedural

“the Motion to Disqualify Counsel (ECF No. 21) is DENIED AS MOOT ... the Court will not reach the merits of Mr. Little's Motion to Disqualify Counsel.”

Cain v. Birge & Held Property Management, L.L.C.
· 2024-03-25
Motion for judgment on pleadings (defendant) Granted in part

“Defendant's Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings (ECF No. 15) is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART. Count I of Plaintiff's Complaint is DISMISSED.”

Summary judgment (plaintiff) Moot / procedural

“Plaintiff's pending Motion for Partial Summary Judgment (ECF No. 26) is DENIED WITHOUT PREJUDICE to refiling.”

Wilson v. Ancestry.com LLC
· 2024-06-25
Motion for reconsideration (defendant) Denied

“the Court DENIES Ancestry's Motion for Reconsideration. (ECF No. 69.) ... a change in Ninth Circuit caselaw is indisputably not a change in controlling law warranting the rare relief sought in a motion for reconsideration ... This Court is only bound by decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court and the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.”

Dept. of Labor v. Americare Healthcare Services, LLC
· 2024-04-02
Motion for oral argument (defendant) Denied

“Defendants' Amended Motion Requesting Oral Argument (ECF No. 93) is DENIED and Defendants' original Motion (ECF No. 92) is DENIED as moot ... The Court concludes that oral argument is not essential to the fair resolution of the case.”

King v. City of Columbus, Ohio
· 2023-01-13
Motion to bifurcate (plaintiff) Granted in part

“the Court GRANTS in part and DENIES in part Plaintiff's Motion to Bifurcate Punitive Damages. (ECF No. 211). ... The Court will bifurcate this trial, not trifurcate it.”

Elba v. Mac's Convenience Stores, LLC
· 2026-02-03
Motion for reconsideration (defendant) Denied

“the Court DENIES Defendant's Motion for Reconsideration. (ECF No. 40.) ... Rule 59(e) is inapplicable here ... These arguments are essentially an attempt to re-litigate an issue previously considered by the Court and, therefore, do not justify granting Defendant's Motion for Reconsideration.”

Lloyd v. Pokorny
· 2020-09-02
Objection to magistrate order (plaintiff) Denied

“Plaintiff's objection to the Magistrate Judge's August 25, 2020 Order (ECF No. 76) is OVERRULED ... the Magistrate's August 25, 2020 Order was not clearly erroneous or contrary to law.”

Sewell v. LC Preserve Crossing, LLC
Motions to dismiss (defendant) Granted

“Defendant's First Motion to Dismiss for Failure to State a Claim is GRANTED.”

Summary judgment (plaintiff) Moot / procedural

“in Support of Its Motion for Summary Judgment is DENIED as moot. (ECF No. 7.)”

United States v. Johnson
Motion for judgment of acquittal (defendant) Denied

“Mr. Johnson's Rule 29 Motion is denied as to his Count 11 conviction.”

Motion for new trial (defendant) Denied

“his motion for a new trial is DENIED.”

United States v. Solomon
Motion to suppress (defendant) Denied

“Defendant's Motion to Suppress is DENIED. (ECF No. 37).”

Bailey v. C.R. Bard, Inc.
Motions to dismiss (defendant) Granted

“Defendants' Motion to Dismiss is GRANTED”

Eaton v. Ascent Resources-Utica, LLC
Motion for voluntary dismissal (plaintiff) Granted

“This motion is GRANTED.”

Caseload & timing

From public federal docket records for this judge.

Samples from January 2020 through June 2022 and from June 2026 are dominated by member cases in the C.R. Bard hernia-mesh and DuPont C-8 multidistrict litigations. They also include civil-rights, employee-benefits, prisoner, public-records, contract, and federal criminal matters. The samples are illustrative rather than random.

Put Judge Sargus's record to work

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

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