Patricia L. Dodge
How Judge Dodge rules, drawn from 41 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Dodge
Patricia L. Dodge became chief United States magistrate judge for the Western District of Pennsylvania on October 1, 2026. Before joining the bench in 2019, she practiced civil trial law for 38 years and was managing partner of Meyer, Unkovic & Scott. She graduated from Pennsylvania State University and Duquesne University School of Law.
Judge Dodge's practices and standing orders
Rules for cases before Judge Dodge, 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.
Key rules
Contacting chambers
Send no letters, motions, or briefs directly to Judge Dodge unless she requests or approves it.
“Counsel shall not send letters, motions or briefs to Magistrate Judge Dodge unless she specifically requests or approves this practice.”
Motions
Confer before filing a Rule 12 motion to see whether amendment can cure the complaint.
“defense counsel first must meet and confer with plaintiff’s counsel before filing to determine whether any purported defects with the complaint can be cured.”
Motions
Rule 12 motions without the required conferral certificate will be stricken.
“Rule 12 motions that do not contain the required certification will be stricken.”
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).
How Judge Dodge decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In an employment retaliation suit, Dodge measured the interval to termination from the end of the employee’s protected leave, rather than the original leave request, and found fourteen days close enough to support a prima facie causal link.
“Thus, the appropriate measurement is between the date Cypher’s FMLA leave expired—October 11—and the date he was terminated—October 25—or fourteen days. This is sufficient for temporal proximity.”
Procedural preferences
In an ERISA fee award, Dodge reduced hours for a second lawyer’s attendance at mediation despite accepting the lead lawyer’s preparation time.
“While the Court is not critical of Mr. Harris’s attendance at the mediation, having two attorneys attend the mediation is duplicative.”
Cautions
In a school-employment suit, Dodge found that the plaintiff failed to preserve relevant social-media data but declined dismissal with prejudice, leaving room for relief tailored to the resulting prejudice.
“For these reasons, the Court finds that Plaintiff failed to preserve ESI. At the same time, however, it declines Defendants’ request to dismiss Plaintiff’s action with prejudice.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“Target's Motion to Dismiss (Doc 14) is GRANTED regarding the claim for attorney's fees against it, and otherwise is DENIED”
“the City's Motion to Dismiss (Doc 33) is DENIED”
“The Federal Defendants' Motion to Dismiss (ECF No. 57) is granted, with prejudice.”
“Defendants, AHN, Meenihan, Islamova, and Abts' Motion to Dismiss (ECF Nos. 37, 73, 77) is granted as to Counts VIII through X, XIII through XXI and XXXI, with prejudice, and as to Counts I through VII, XI, XII, and XXII through XXX, without prejudice pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 1367(c)(3).”
“Defendants, Caceres and Sagath's Motion to Dismiss (ECF No. 97) is granted as to Counts VIII through X, XIII through XXI and XXXI, with prejudice, and as to Counts I through VII, XI, XII, and XXII through XXX, without prejudice pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 1367(c)(3).”
“Defendants' Motion to Dismiss, ECF No. 16, is DENIED in part and GRANTED in part. ... DENIED as to Mr. Ingram's retaliation claim against Defendant Allen Lynch. ... Granted as to all remaining claims ... dismissed with prejudice to reassertion in this proceeding ... Defendants Davis and Milliken are dismissed ... without prejudice. ... Leave to amend the Complaint is granted only as to claims Mr. Ingram may wish to assert against Davis or Milliken.”
“Plaintiff Kai D. Ingram's Motion for Temporary Restraining Order, ECF No. 29, is DENIED.”
“the Commissioner's final decision is vacated and this matter is remanded to the Social Security Administration for a new hearing before a different constitutionally appointed Administrative Law Judge than the Administrative Law Judge who presided over Campbell's first hearing.”
“it is ORDERED that the Commissioner's final decision is vacated and this matter is remanded to the Social Security Administration for a new hearing before a different constitutionally appointed Administrative Law Judge than the Administrative Law Judge who presided over Schaffer's first hearing.”
“MEMORANDUM OPINION and ORDER granting 19 MOTION for Summary Judgment filed by OTIS BROWN. The Commissioner's final decision is vacated and this matter is remanded to the Social Security Administration for a new hearing before a different constitutionally appointed Administrative Law Judge than the Administrative Law Judge who presided over Brown's first hearing.”
“the Court will deny the Second Amended Petition and deny a certificate of appealability.”
“For these reasons, the DOC Defendants' motion for judgment on the pleadings and Defendant Smyth's motion to dismiss will be granted and dismissal will be with prejudice.”
“For these reasons, Defendants' motion for reconsideration will be denied.”
“Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment (ECF No. 151) will be denied.”
“the Court will grant Defendants' Motion (ECF 77) and will dismiss this civil action with prejudice for failure to prosecute and close this case.”
“For the reasons set forth herein, Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment (ECF No. 116) will be granted in part and denied in part.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Cases referred to Dodge remain listed under the assigning district judges, so the sample cannot support a separate count of her full caseload. The reviewed matters include complex commercial and tort litigation, federal-agency claims, and prisoner civil-rights cases, with many complex civil dismissal motions.
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 | 1 |
| Bankruptcy appeals pending more than six months | 0 |
| Social Security appeals pending more than six months | 1 |
| Civil cases pending more than three years | 5 |
| Report | Motions over six months | Cases over three years |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | 0 | 5 |
| Sep 2025 | 0 | 6 |
| Mar 2025 | 0 | 3 |
| Sep 2024 | 1 | 4 |
| Mar 2024 | 0 | 4 |
| Sep 2023 | 0 | 3 |
| Mar 2023 | 0 | 2 |
| Sep 2022 | 0 | 3 |
| Mar 2022 | 0 | 3 |
| Sep 2021 | 0 | 2 |
| Mar 2021 | 0 | 3 |
| Sep 2020 | 0 | 1 |
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 Western District of Pennsylvania, not for Judge Dodge: 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 | 1,965 | 6.5 months |
| Closed with no court action | 665 | 4.6 months |
| Closed before pretrial | 659 | 5.1 months |
| Closed during or after pretrial | 632 | 8.4 months |
| Closed during trial | 9 | not reported |
| 12 months ending | Cases closed | Median time |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 1,965 | 6.5 months |
| Sep 2024 | 1,871 | 6.3 months |
| Sep 2023 | 2,021 | 5.9 months |
| Sep 2022 | 1,988 | 6.5 months |
| Sep 2021 | 1,891 | 6.3 months |
| Sep 2020 | 1,939 | 5.6 months |
| Sep 2019 | 1,766 | 6.9 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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