Susan Judy Dlott
How Judge Dlott rules, drawn from 40 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Dlott
Susan J. Dlott is a judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. Appointed by President William J. Clinton, Judge Dlott received a commission on December 26, 1995. Judge Dlott assumed senior status on May 31, 2018.
Judge Dlott's practices and standing orders
Rules for cases before Judge Dlott, 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 - Civil Procedures ↗
- Rule 26 (f) Report ↗
- Standing Order - Criminal Procedures ↗
- Civil Final Pretrial Order ↗
- Sample Voire Dire Questions for Criminal Trials ↗
Key rules
Discovery
Use Judge Dlott’s required joint discovery plan form after the Rule 26(f) conference.
“They shall use the required Joint Discovery Plan form on”
Discovery
Try written and telephone resolution, then contact chambers for a conference before filing a discovery motion.
“THIS COURT DOES NOT PERMIT DISCOVERY MOTIONS, i.e., motions to compel or motions for protective order regarding discovery disputes”
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 Dlott decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In Vesi v. Vera Bradley Designs, she granted Vera Bradley summary judgment on the plaintiff's claim and on its $47,684.43 counterclaim.
“Vera Bradley’s Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 52) is GRANTED as to both Vesi’s claim against it and its counterclaim against Vesi for $47,684.43.”
In the contract dispute, an express invoice deadline controlled because the plaintiff did not establish that the defendant voluntarily relinquished the right to refuse late invoices.
“Symphony has not demonstrated evidence that Medpace voluntarily relinquished its right not to pay late invoices.”
Procedural preferences
In Washington Marine v. Kunz, she granted the defendant's partial motion to dismiss and dismissed the conversion and civil theft claims.
“Defendant’s Partial Motion to Dismiss (Doc. 1-3 at PageID 22–28) is GRANTED. Plaintiff’s conversion and civil theft claims are DISMISSED.”
Cautions
In Jones v. City of Cincinnati, she denied the police officers' motion to reconsider the earlier summary judgment ruling.
“the Motion to Reconsider the Motion for Summary Judgment of the Police Officers (doc. 151) is DENIED.”
In Agyei v. Warden, she denied the petitioner's two habeas petitions and emergency injunction requests after a voluntary-departure order changed his detention posture.
“Agyei’s Habeas Petitions (Docs. 1, 8) and TRO Motions (Docs. 2, 9) are DENIED.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“Defendant’s Partial Motion to Dismiss (Doc. 1-3 at PageID 22–28) is GRANTED. Plaintiff’s conversion and civil theft claims are DISMISSED.”
“Vera Bradley’s Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 52) is GRANTED as to both Vesi’s claim against it and its counterclaim against Vesi for $47,684.43.”
“Vesi’s Motion for Leave to File a Sur-Reply (Doc. 93) is GRANTED, but the arguments and evidence cited therein were not dispositive of the summary judgment issues.”
The court allowed five-page supplemental briefs on judicial estoppel and deferred the request for oral argument without deciding the pending cross-motions for summary judgment.
“Minute Key’s motions to dismiss (Doc. 28, 29) are granted”
“Hillman’s Motion for Leave to File an Amended Complaint and motion to file documents under seal (Doc. 40, 42) are granted in part”
“the Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 27) is GRANTED”
“Plaintiff’s Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 28) is DENIED.”
“the Court will grant Defendants’ Motions to Dismiss (Doc. 11, 12) and dismiss Plaintiff’s claims against those Defendants without prejudice.”
“the Motion to Reconsider the Motion for Summary Judgment of the Police Officers (doc. 151) is DENIED.”
“Officer Hooven’s first and second claims are dismissed, but his third and fourth claims are not dismissed.”
“The Motion for Sanctions (Doc. 94) is DENIED.”
“The Motion for Reconsideration is granted in so far as the January 3, 2025 Dismissal Order is amended in two ways.”
“Finally, the Plaintiffs’ Motion to Certify is denied at this time.”
“(Docs. 21, 23, 24 30, 31) are GRANTED.”
“DiSalvo Development and Pete DiSalvo’s Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings (Doc. 41) is GRANTED.”
“the Court is unable to accept the Rule 11(c)(1)(C) Plea Agreement and denies Defendant’s Motion for Reconsideration.”
“the Court will GRANT the Habeas Petition and DENY AS MOOT the Motion for Summary Judgment.”
“The Court will DENY AS MOOT the Motion to Dismiss.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
The caseload sample includes eight terminated civil cases filed from 2020 through 2022 for duration analysis and ten pending 2026 matters illustrating the current mix of cases.
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 | 3 |
| Report | Motions over six months | Cases over three years |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | 0 | 3 |
| Sep 2025 | 0 | 4 |
| Mar 2025 | 1 | 3 |
| Sep 2024 | 1 | 2 |
| Mar 2024 | 0 | 2 |
| Sep 2023 | 0 | 3 |
| Mar 2023 | 2 | 3 |
| Sep 2022 | 5 | 6 |
| Mar 2022 | 13 | 5 |
| Sep 2021 | 0 | 4 |
| Mar 2021 | 1 | 4 |
| Sep 2020 | 0 | 4 |
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 Dlott: 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 Dlott with the record in hand
Ezel grounds your drafting and research in this profile: what has persuaded Judge Dlott, and what has not, cited to the signed orders.
Opens in Ezel Pro.
- Grounded in Judge Dlott's own signed orders
- Cites every source it relies on, so you can verify it
- Chat, drafting and research in one workspace