Timothy Seymour Black
How Judge Black rules, drawn from 23 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Black
Timothy Seymour Black is a judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. Appointed by President Barack Obama, Judge Black received a commission on May 13, 2010. Judge Black assumed senior status on May 18, 2022.
Judge Black's practices and standing orders
Rules for cases before Judge Black, 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.
- Cincinnati Civil Procedures ↗
- Standing Order Governing Civil Motions for Summary Judgment ↗
- Criminal Procedures Form ↗
- Rule 26(f) - Report of the Parties ↗
Key rules
Motions
Attach a separately numbered proposed undisputed facts statement to every opening summary judgment brief.
“There shall be attached to every opening brief in support of a motion for summary judgment a document entitled ‘Proposed Undisputed Facts,’”
Discovery
Use the court’s preliminary dispute procedure before filing a discovery motion.
“This Court does not permit discovery motions, i.e., motions to compel or motions”
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 Black decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
On a partial judgment-on-the-pleadings motion, he separated claims that depended on a challenged thirty-minute rule from the plaintiff's remaining wage theories and allowed the latter to continue.
“Defendant’s motion for partial judgment on the pleadings (Doc. 23) is GRANTED to the extent that Plaintiff’s claims rely on the 30-Minute Rule, but is DENIED in all other respects.”
Procedural preferences
In Strike 3 Holdings v. Doe, Black authorized a subpoena to identify an anonymous subscriber before the Rule 26(f) conference after finding good cause. He limited the information sought and protected the subscriber's identity during early discovery.
“the Court finds that Plaintiff has demonstrated good cause for early discovery. Plaintiff has alleged a claim for direct copyright infringement and has narrowly tailored the discovery it seeks to identifying the alleged infringer. Moreover, the information sought is necessary to prosecute Plaintiff’s claim and is otherwise unavailable.”
Cautions
In Struckman's habeas case, Black denied a request to expand the record with Exhibit A-9 after finding that the petitioner had not shown the materiality of the information he sought.
“To establish a Brady-Kyles violation, Petitioner must demonstrate materiality. He has not.”
In Robertson’s disability-accommodation suit, Black granted the employer summary judgment after finding no evidence of when the employee had requested an accommodation or that one had been denied.
“fails to evidence or even suggest a date on which he requested an accommodation.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“The Morgan Defendants' motion for partial summary judgment (Doc. 96) is GRANTED; Defendant Nancy Blair's motion for partial summary judgment (Doc. 98) is GRANTED; The Outside Director Defendants' motion for partial summary judgment (Doc. 100) is GRANTED; and Therefore, Count I of the amended complaint (breach of fiduciary duty) is barred by the statute of limitations and is hereby DISMISSED as a matter of law.”
“Defendant's motion for summary judgment on all claims asserted by Ronnie Hill (Doc. 39) is GRANTED.”
“Defendants' motion for summary judgment and renewed motion to dismiss Count II (Doc. 97) is GRANTED;”
“Plaintiff's motion for recusal (Doc. 99) is DENIED;”
“Plaintiff's motion to vacate (Doc. 101) is DENIED; and”
“DPS's motion for summary judgment (Doc. 3) is DENIED”
“DPS's motion to dismiss (Doc. 13) is DENIED as MOOT to the extent that the Counterclaim has been adjudicated by the Arbitrator and DENIED to the extent that a jury must determine if DPS's breaches are material”
“Defendant EWS's motion for partial dismissal/motion for more definite statement (Doc. 7) is DENIED”
“Defendant Equifax's motion to dismiss (Doc. 14) is DENIED.”
“Defendant's motion for partial summary judgment (Doc. 137) is GRANTED.”
“Defendant's motion for summary judgment (Doc. 46) is GRANTED;”
“Plaintiff's motion for summary judgment (Doc. 50) is DENIED;”
“Plaintiff's motion for reconsideration/relief from judgment (Doc. 43) is DENIED;”
“this case is hereby DISMISSED without prejudice. The Clerk shall enter judgment accordingly”
“Petitioner's motion for relief from judgment (Doc. 12) is DENIED; and This case remains TERMINATED upon the docket of this Court.”
“Petitioner's motions for extension of time (Doc. 11, 13) are DENIED;”
“Rule 41(a)(1)(B) requires that this 'notice of dismissal operate[] as an adjudication on the merits.' This case is therefore DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE.”
“Defendant's Motion to Dismiss, or alternatively, to compel arbitration (Doc. 5) is GRANTED; ... The Court COMPELS the matter to arbitration; ... This action is STAYED pending arbitration.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
The 2021-2023 Cincinnati sample includes multiple copyright subpoena cases, False Claims Act matters, patent and ERISA disputes, employment and civil-rights claims, a Federal Tort Claims Act case, and an administrative-law challenge. It is illustrative rather than randomly selected.
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 | 6 |
| 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 | 2 |
| Report | Motions over six months | Cases over three years |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | 6 | 2 |
| Sep 2025 | 4 | 3 |
| Mar 2025 | 3 | 3 |
| Sep 2024 | 3 | 1 |
| Mar 2024 | 4 | 3 |
| Sep 2023 | 3 | 6 |
| Mar 2023 | 3 | 7 |
| Sep 2022 | 3 | 5 |
| Mar 2022 | 6 | 13 |
| Sep 2021 | 10 | 13 |
| Mar 2021 | 22 | 16 |
| Sep 2020 | 27 | 11 |
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 Black: 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 Black with the record in hand
Ezel grounds your drafting and research in this profile: what has persuaded Judge Black, and what has not, cited to the signed orders.
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