Frank Howell Seay
How Judge Seay rules, drawn from 7 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
Judge Seay no longer sits on this court. This profile is preserved as a historical record of how they ruled here.
About Judge Seay
Frank Howell Seay served on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma after receiving his commission on November 2, 1979. He assumed senior status on September 25, 2003. By May 2021, he was an inactive senior judge.
How Judge Seay decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
Procedural preferences
In Webb v. Cathey, Seay granted a prosecutor’s absolute-immunity motion but denied the investigator’s motion based on that defense, leaving the investigator free to file a proper dispositive motion.
“Defendant Cathey’s motion to dismiss, based on absolute immunity, therefore, is DENIED without prejudice to file a proper dispositive motion.”
Cautions
In Green v. Sirmons, Seay reviewed the prisoner's grievance history and granted summary judgment on the remaining claims after finding no genuine issue that the administrative process had not been exhausted.
“After careful review, the court finds plaintiff has failed to show there is a genuine issue for trial as to whether he has exhausted his administrative remedies, and the defendants' motion for summary judgment should be granted.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“Thus, the court finds the defendant Fioretti is entitled to qualified immunity in that his conduct did not violate the clearly established law or constitutional rights concerning search warrants. ... Accordingly, the court grants the defendant Fioretti's motion to dismiss in his individual capacity as it relates to the issue of qualified immunity.”
“For the reasons stated herein, Petitioner's Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus (Docket No. 15) and his Supplemental Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus (Docket No. 61) are hereby denied.”
“Based on the foregoing reasons, the VA's motion for summary judgment is granted and the VA is entitled to judgment in its favor on all claims asserted by Madewell.”
“Royal's motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted is granted in all respects, except for the allegations constituting claims under the Fourteenth Amendment for denial of due process and the Fourth Amendment for illegal entry.”
“Defendants Judge Mark Campbell and Matt Stubblefield are DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE”
“Defendant Doug Canant is DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE”
“Defendant Julie Nafieh's motion to dismiss (Docket No. 20) is GRANTED”
“Defendant David Michael Cathey's motion to dismiss (Docket No. 21) is DENIED.”
“Defendants ... motion for summary judgment (Dkt. 118) is GRANTED, and these defendants are DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE from this action for plaintiff's failure to exhaust administrative remedies for his claims against them ... This action is dismissed in its entirety, and this dismissal shall count as a STRIKE, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. Section 1915(g).”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
- The identifiable caseload assigned to this judge spans Social Security disability appeals, prisoner habeas and civil-rights suits, civil forfeiture, tax and IRS disputes, and general civil litigation removed from state court (insurance, contract, tort).
- Dockets outside the small 2016 cohort largely carry only case-level metadata (parties, nature of suit, filing and termination dates) without a retained entry-by-entry timeline.
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 | 0 |
| Report | Motions over six months | Cases over three years |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2023 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2023 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2022 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2022 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2021 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2021 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2020 | 0 | 0 |
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.
A historical record
Judge Seay no longer sits on this court. This profile stays available as a record of how they ruled here. If you're preparing for a matter, start from the court's current bench.