Donald Emil Ziegler

United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania district Deceased · served 1978–2019 Appointed by Jimmy Carter (Democratic) 19 signed orders read

Judge Ziegler no longer hears cases. This profile is preserved as a historical record of how they ruled.

Signed rulings

A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.

MRM Engineers, P.C. v. United States Small Business Administration
· 1988-06-15
Preliminary injunction (MRM Engineers, P.C.) Denied

“IT IS ORDERED that the motion of plaintiff, MRM ENGINEERS, P.C., for a preliminary injunction be and hereby is denied.”

Lorenz v. Cleveland Clinic Foundation
· 1986-04-23
Motions to transfer (Plaintiff) Granted

“Because we find such a transfer in the interests of justice, we shall so order.”

Nicholas v. Ashraf
· 1987-03-23
Motions to transfer (Defendants) Granted

“Because we find such a transfer in the interests of justice, we shall so order.”

EZ Communications, Inc. v. American Federation of Television & Radio Artists
· 1989-10-16
Summary judgment (EZ Communications, Inc.) Denied

“The motion of plaintiff for summary judgment will be denied, and defendant’s motion will be granted.”

Summary judgment (American Federation of Television & Radio Artists) Granted
Gorman v. North Pittsburgh Oral Surgery Associates, Ltd.
· 1986-07-08
Motions to dismiss (North Pittsburgh Oral Surgery Associates, Ltd.) Denied

“The complaint alleges that defendant is an employer under ADEA. Complaint, paragraph 6. Subject-matter jurisdiction is present on the face of the complaint and the motion of defendant will be denied.”

United States v. Benish
· 1992-01-13
Motion to suppress physical evidence (Garry Benish) Denied

“The motion of defendant, Garry Benish, to suppress the evidence seized on July 1, 1991, at his farm in Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, will be denied.”

Motion to suppress statements (Garry Benish) Denied

“Simply put, we find that the witnesses for the government were more believable than the witnesses for the defendant, and therefore defendant’s motion to suppress must be denied.”

Hussey Copper, Ltd. v. Oxford Financial Group
· 1987-09-25
Motion for attorneys fees (Oxford Financial Group and related defendants) Granted

“Defendants’ motion for counsel fees will be granted and counsel shall file within 30 days a verified itemization of the fees and expenses incurred by defendants in defending the federal action, including the motion for expedited discovery.”

Silicon Technology, Inc. v. United Refractories, Inc.
· 1985-08-30
Motions to dismiss (United Refractories, Inc.) Granted

“Defendant’s motion must be granted. As rehearsed, we need not address the issue whether United Refractories committed acts of infringement within this district.”

McCorkle v. Firemen's Ins. Co. of Newark, NJ
· 1988-02-09
Summary judgment (Firemen's Insurance Company and Underwriters Adjusting Company) Granted

“We will grant defendant’s motion for summary judgment. Plaintiff’s motion for judgment will be denied.”

Summary judgment (Robert McCorkle) Denied
Wagner v. Township of Harmar
· 1987-01-21
Motions to dismiss (Township of Harmar and individual defendants) Granted

“Plaintiff has failed to allege facts to set forth a cause of action, as he was ordered by this court to do on October 9, 1986, and therefore, he must suffer dismissal. We hold that plaintiff’s claims are without merit and accordingly, shall grant defendant’s motion to dismiss.”

In Re GNC Shareholder Litigation: All Actions
· 1987-09-04
Motion to approve class settlement (Class parties) Granted

“IT IS ORDERED that the settlement agreement reached by the parties in the instant case, calling for a settlement fund of $2,025,000.00, be and hereby is approved;”

Request for incentive awards (Named plaintiffs) Granted

“IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the request for incentive awards of $3,000.00 each to the three named plaintiffs be and hereby is granted;”

Motion for attorneys fees (Plaintiffs' counsel) Granted

“IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the fee petition of plaintiffs’ counsel be and hereby is granted and counsel is awarded the sum of $506,250.00 as fees, representing 25 percent of the settlement fund of $2,025,000.00 plus expenses of $8,424.71.”

In re Mellon Bank Shareholder Litigation
· 1988-04-19
Class certification (Plaintiffs) Granted

“In sum, we hold that plaintiffs have met the test for class certification pursuant to Rule 23(a) and (b)(3). Plaintiffs’ motion for class certification will be granted.”

Caseload & timing

From public federal docket records for this judge.

The surviving 20-case metadata cohort consists entirely of terminated matters filed from 1985 through 1989. It is an archival slice rather than a career-wide caseload estimate.

A historical record

Judge Ziegler no longer hears cases. This profile stays available as a record of how they ruled. If you're preparing for a matter, start from the court's current bench.