Matthew Walden McFarland
How Judge McFarland rules, drawn from 21 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge McFarland
Matthew Walden McFarland is a judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. Appointed by President Donald J. Trump, Judge McFarland received a commission on December 31, 2019.
Judge McFarland's practices and standing orders
Rules for cases before Judge McFarland, 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.
- Standing Order re Procedure in Civil Cases ↗
- Criminal Preliminary Pretrial Order ↗
- Joint Discovery Plan ↗
- Standing Order re Criminal Procedure ↗
Key rules
Discovery
Attempt to resolve discovery disputes in writing and by telephone before asking chambers for a conference or filing a motion.
“requiring counsel to try to resolve the matter both in writing and telephonically.”
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).
- General Order 24-02 In Re: Procedures for Requesting, Filing, and Management of Highly Sensitive Documents ↗
- U.S. District Court General Order No. 24-05 ↗
- General Order 23-03 In Re: Automatic Sealing and Procedures for Unsealing of Applications for Search Warrants, Pen Registers, Trap and Trace Devices, or Court Orders Under 18 U.S.C. § 2703(d). ↗
How Judge McFarland decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In a suit against the CFL Pizza defendants, McFarland granted their motion to dismiss and compel arbitration and dismissed them from the case.
“GRANTS the CFL Pizza Defendants Motion to Dismiss and Compel Arbitration (Doc. 17) ... the CFL Pizza Defendants are hereby DISMISSED from this litigation”
In Cincinnati Bell v. Sinclair, McFarland denied Deerfield’s dismissal motion because the complaint’s alter-ego allegations were sufficient at the pleading stage.
“The Court finds that these allegations more than sufficiently plead alter ego liability.”
Procedural preferences
In an insurance dispute, allowed expert evidence about the insured’s losses while excluding opinions about damages to people outside the insurance contract.
“Smith’s opinions about damages suffered by non-insured persons and entities are irrelevant.”
Cautions
In an FTCA suit against the United States, McFarland granted the government’s dismissal motion and dismissed its claims without prejudice.
“Defendant United States of America's Motion to Dismiss (Doc. 21) is GRANTED. All claims brought against the United States of America are DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE.”
In Parker v. Target, McFarland granted Target summary judgment on a slip-and-fall claim because the plaintiff offered no evidence of how long the spill had existed, leaving no basis to find constructive notice. He dismissed Count 1 with prejudice.
“Target's Motion for Summary Judgment is GRANTED. Thus, Count 1 of Plaintiff's Complaint is DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE.”
In Jackson’s habeas case, McFarland dismissed the petition with prejudice as untimely and declined to address its merits after adopting the magistrate judge’s recommendations.
“However, as the statute of limitations clearly precludes Petitioner's claim for habeas relief, the Court finds it improper to address the merits.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“GRANTS the CFL Pizza Defendants Motion to Dismiss and Compel Arbitration (Doc. 17) ... the CFL Pizza Defendants are hereby DISMISSED from this litigation”
“DENIES WITHOUT PREJUDICE TO REFILING Plaintiff's Motion to Send Notice to Similarly Situated Employees (Doc. 3) ... and STAYS this litigation”
“Target's Motion for Summary Judgment is GRANTED. Thus, Count 1 of Plaintiff's Complaint is DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE.”
“Defendant United States of America's Motion to Dismiss (Doc. 21) is GRANTED. All claims brought against the United States of America are DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE.”
“Plaintiffs ... Motion for Leave to File First Amended Complaint (Doc. 39) is DENIED.”
“Plaintiffs ... Motion to Strike Defendant's Request for Dismissal Under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) (Doc. 45) is DENIED.”
“Walmart's Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 20) is GRANTED; Plaintiff's claims against Walmart are DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE”
“Defendants' Amended Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 44) is GRANTED; Plaintiff's claims are DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE”
“the Court DENIES Defendant's Motion for Default Judgment”
“GRANTS Plaintiff's Motion to Amend (Doc. 28).”
“Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 23) is GRANTED;”
“Plaintiff's Motion to Dismiss (Doc. 18) is DENIED”
“Defendant fails to satisfy its burden of showing that this is an exceptional case to”
“Defendant's Motion to Stay (Doc. 20) is DENIED.”
“Motion for Class Certification (Doc. 3) is DENIED WITHOUT PREJUDICE.”
“Plaintiff's Motion to Remand is GRANTED. This entire matter is”
“DENIED AS MOOT because the Court lacks subject matter jurisdiction”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
A sample of cases filed in 2019 and 2020 and terminated from 2020 through 2022 is weighted toward diversity matters, including employment and civil-rights, contract, employee-benefits, and personal-injury disputes, together with federal criminal cases. Several matters were inherited from the prior judge's seat.
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 | 0 |
| 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 | 7 |
| Report | Motions over six months | Cases over three years |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | 0 | 7 |
| Sep 2025 | 0 | 2 |
| Mar 2025 | 0 | 5 |
| Sep 2024 | 0 | 6 |
| Mar 2024 | 0 | 7 |
| Sep 2023 | 0 | 7 |
| Mar 2023 | 0 | 7 |
| Sep 2022 | 34 | 21 |
| Mar 2022 | 27 | 12 |
| Sep 2021 | 22 | 8 |
| Mar 2021 | 18 | 8 |
| Sep 2020 | 23 | 5 |
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 U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, not for Judge McFarland: 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 | 2,199 | 9 months |
| Closed with no court action | 1,037 | 7.5 months |
| Closed before pretrial | 810 | 7.2 months |
| Closed during or after pretrial | 343 | 15.2 months |
| Closed during trial | 9 | not reported |
| 12 months ending | Cases closed | Median time |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 2,199 | 9 months |
| Sep 2024 | 2,137 | 8.2 months |
| Sep 2023 | 2,153 | 9.7 months |
| Sep 2022 | 2,311 | 12.6 months |
| Sep 2021 | 2,287 | 10.4 months |
| Sep 2020 | 2,012 | 9.7 months |
| Sep 2019 | 5,561 | 41.6 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 McFarland with the record in hand
Ezel grounds your drafting and research in this profile: what has persuaded Judge McFarland, and what has not, cited to the signed orders.
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