John M. Gallagher
How Judge Gallagher rules, drawn from 43 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Gallagher
John M. Gallagher is a judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. President Donald J. Trump appointed him, and he received his commission on December 31, 2019. Before joining the bench, he served as an assistant United States attorney in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Judge Gallagher's practices and standing orders
Rules for cases before Judge Gallagher, as published on the court's website (checked October 8, 2026). Judges revise these often, so confirm the current version on the court's site before you file.
Key rules
Motions
Confer verbally about alleged pleading deficiencies at least seven days before filing a Rule 12(b)(6) motion.
“Before filing a motion pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), counsel shall first contact opposing counsel to discuss the substance of the contemplated motion and to provide an opportunity to cure any alleged pleading deficiencies. This conference shall take place at least seven days prior to the filing of the motion.”
Motions
Limit opening and opposition briefs to 20 pages, including attachments.
“Opening briefs filed in support of and in opposition to a motion should be limited to twenty pages.”
Conferences
Send the joint Rule 26(f) status report to chambers at least seven calendar days before the pretrial conference.
“At least seven calendar days prior to the pretrial conference, counsel must submit to chambers a joint status report pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(f).”
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 8, 2026).
- Standing Order on Procedure for Case Opening ↗
- Standing Order on Highly Sensitive Documents ↗
- Standing Order on Access and Management of Sealed Documents ↗
- Standing Order on Filing Procedures in Alien Detainee Cases ↗
- Second Amended Standing Order on Guilty Pleas and Sentencing ↗
- Standing Order on Electronic Document Submission for Unrepresented Litigants ↗
- Standing Procedural Order for Cases Seeking Social Security Review ↗
- Superseding Standing Order on Procedural Matters in Pro Se Civil and Habeas Cases ↗
- Standing Order on Electronic Access to Civil and Criminal Transcripts ↗
How Judge Gallagher decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In one employment case, the court granted class certification.
“Motion for Class Certification (ECF No. 54) is GRANTED”
Procedural preferences
The court dismissed one count without prejudice and allowed the plaintiff to amend.
“Motion to Dismiss Count V of the Complaint (ECF No. 15) is GRANTED. 3. Count V of the Complaint (ECF No. 1) is DISMISSED without prejudice. 4. Plaintiff SHALL have leave to file an amended complaint”
In Shahzad, Gallagher granted reconsideration only to correct an overlooked diversity jurisdiction allegation while leaving the federal claim dismissals intact.
“Reconsideration is therefore warranted solely to correct that jurisdictional oversight.”
Cautions
The court dismissed the complaint without prejudice on a defense motion.
“Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss (ECF No. 19) is GRANTED. Plaintiff’s Complaint (ECF No. 1) is DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“Motions for Summary Judgment (ECF No. 157) is GRANTED as to Plaintiff’s Eighth Amendment claim”
“Plaintiff’s Motion (ECF No. 104) is GRANTED in part”
“Defendant-Appellant Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.’s appeal (ECF No. 5) is DENIED”
“Defendant’s Motion (ECF No. 28) is GRANTED IN PART AND DENIED IN PART”
“Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment (ECF No. 23) on Plaintiff’s termination of employment contract on the basis of race in violation of Title VII is GRANTED”
“Motion for More Definite Statement or Strike Paragraphs 5, 7 and 51 (ECF No. 15) is DENIED as moot”
“Motion to Dismiss Count V of the Complaint (ECF No. 15) is GRANTED. 3. Count V of the Complaint (ECF No. 1) is DISMISSED without prejudice. 4. Plaintiff SHALL have leave to file an amended complaint”
“Defendants’ Motion (ECF No. 95) is GRANTED and all claims asserted in this action are DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE”
“Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment on Plaintiff’s racial discrimination claim brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1981 is GRANTED”
“Plaintiffs’ Motion (ECF No. 60), is GRANTED and Plaintiffs’ claims are REMANDED”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Median motion-to-ruling time: 95 days (N = 5).
The ten sampled dockets include civil rights, employment, insurance, and contract matters. The small fixed selection cannot establish the judge’s caseload mix.
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 | 3 |
| Bench trials submitted more than six months | 0 |
| Bankruptcy appeals pending more than six months | 0 |
| Social Security appeals pending more than six months | 2 |
| Civil cases pending more than three years | 7 |
| Report | Motions over six months | Cases over three years |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | 3 | 7 |
| Sep 2025 | 3 | 5 |
| Mar 2025 | 3 | 6 |
| Sep 2024 | 2 | 5 |
| Mar 2024 | 3 | 5 |
| Sep 2023 | 2 | 5 |
| Mar 2023 | 1 | 7 |
| Sep 2022 | 0 | 2 |
| Mar 2022 | 1 | 1 |
| Sep 2021 | 5 | 0 |
| Mar 2021 | 6 | 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.
How long civil cases take in this court
For the whole of U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, not for Judge Gallagher: 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 | 5,730 | 5.1 months |
| Closed with no court action | 1,952 | 3.2 months |
| Closed before pretrial | 2,834 | 4.7 months |
| Closed during or after pretrial | 898 | 10 months |
| Closed during trial | 46 | 17.8 months |
| 12 months ending | Cases closed | Median time |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 5,730 | 5.1 months |
| Sep 2024 | 6,200 | 4.6 months |
| Sep 2023 | 6,595 | 7 months |
| Sep 2022 | 5,221 | 6.6 months |
| Sep 2021 | 5,245 | 6.5 months |
| Sep 2020 | 4,686 | 5.7 months |
| Sep 2019 | 5,374 | 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).
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