Joseph Dawson III
How Judge Dawson rules, drawn from 14 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Dawson
Joseph Dawson, III is a judge of the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina. Appointed by President Donald J. Trump, Judge Dawson received a commission on December 22, 2020.
Judge Dawson's practices and standing orders
Rules for cases before Judge Dawson, 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
Filing
Do not send courtesy copies unless Judge Dawson requests them.
“Do not send courtesy copy of any documents unless specifically requested.”
Discovery
Consult opposing counsel and hold a telephone conference with Judge Dawson before filing a discovery motion.
“no motions relating to discovery shall be filed until counsel have consulted and attempted to resolve the matter as required by Local Civil Rule 7.02 and have had a telephone conference with Judge Dawson”
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 Dawson decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In the Surfside Realty age-discrimination case, Dawson adopted a magistrate’s recommendation as modified and granted the employer summary judgment because the agency failed to show the employee met the employer’s legitimate expectations at termination.
“Plaintiff has nonetheless failed to present sufficient evidence to show that Logan was meeting Defendant’s legitimate expectations at the time of her termination.”
In Allstate, Dawson granted the insurer summary judgment on coverage under an intentional-acts exclusion and joint-obligations clause, while expressly leaving the underlying alleged assault and parental liability undecided.
“The Policy excludes bodily injury resulting from intentional acts of any insured person and makes the acts of one insured person binding on the other insured persons.”
Procedural preferences
In Schaefer v. Fluor Enterprises, Inc., Dawson declined to adopt a recommendation excusing late service and dismissed the complaint without prejudice under Rule 4(m), finding the plaintiff had not shown good cause.
“the Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss (DE 10) is granted and Plaintiff’s Complaint is hereby dismissed without prejudice.”
In Williams, Dawson enforced a cure deadline after an explicit warning and dismissed under Rule 41(b) when the plaintiff neither amended the complaint nor otherwise responded.
“Plaintiff was advised he had until March 5, 2025, to file an amended complaint or otherwise cure the deficiencies identified. (Id.) Plaintiff did not respond to the February 19 Order.”
When no party objects to a magistrate judge's recommendation, Dawson reviews the record for clear error before adopting it.
“The Court must ‘only satisfy itself that there is no clear error on the face of the record in order to accept the recommendation.’”
In McDowell, Dawson left the Fourth Amendment claim and related state claims for trial where material facts about probable cause and the officer’s conduct were disputed; he declined to resolve credibility at summary judgment.
“Importantly, the Court cannot make credibility determinations at summary judgment.”
In Bosman, Dawson agreed with the recommended result on federal claims while rejecting the recommendation’s categorical treatment of seizure and voluntary surrender. He explained the basis for his own summary-judgment ruling.
“The Court does not adopt the Report’s categorical conclusions that Plaintiffs were not seized or that Beau was voluntarily surrendered”
In Spates, Dawson reconsidered municipal-liability theories after judgment as a matter of law but denied amendment because the trial evidence did not connect the alleged deprivation to a final policymaker, a wider custom, ratification, or deliberate indifference.
“the record was insufficient to permit a reasonable jury to attribute the alleged constitutional deprivation to HCSD”
In HWH Transport, Dawson let conversion and contract-interference claims proceed at the pleading stage because the parties’ rights to immediate possession of the shipment depended on unresolved facts.
“Those questions depend on the governing source of law and facts concerning the parties’ agreements, communications, obligations, and the circumstances of the stopped delivery.”
In Womack’s automobile coverage dispute, Dawson held that a third-party defendant’s default did not itself establish coverage conclusions. He granted partial default relief only after resolving the shared coverage questions on the merits.
“Jamaris’s default does not itself establish the legal conclusions that Amy lacked an insurable interest, that coverage was void, or that no liability or UIM coverage exists.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“the Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss (DE 10) is granted and Plaintiff’s Complaint is hereby dismissed without prejudice.”
“It is, therefore, ORDERED that Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment (DE 35) is granted and Plaintiff’s case is dismissed.”
Serial pro se patent plaintiff Larry Golden's infringement suit against Google (three patents). Magistrate Judge Kevin F. McDonald recommended dismissal as frivolous. Dawson first adopted the recommendation and dismissed with prejudice, and considered a $400 frivolous-filing sanction (November 2, 2021); the Federal Circuit vacated and remanded (nonprecedential per curiam, September 8, 2022). On remand Dawson adopted a new McDonald recommendation and dismissed without prejudice (April 19, 2023, the operative disposition). As a frivolous-complaint screening dismissal it resolved no pending party motion. Note that the 2021 with-prejudice order is the vacated version; the operative disposition is the 2023 dismissal without prejudice.
Rule 41(b) dismissal rather than a ruling on a party motion. The order states: "It is, therefore, ORDERED that Plaintiff’s claims are DISMISSED under Rule 41(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure for failure to prosecute and failure to comply with a court order." Dawson adopted the unopposed recommendation after the plaintiff failed to amend or cure the complaint by the stated deadline despite an explicit warning.
“The Government’s Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Jurisdiction (DE 9) is GRANTED, and this action is DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE for lack of subject matter jurisdiction;”
“Plaintiff’s motions to stay, compel, and for an extension of time (DE 13; DE 18; DE 19) are DENIED;”
“Because the action is dismissed without prejudice, Plaintiff’s motion to compel (DE 18) and motion for an extension of time (DE 19) are denied as moot.”
“Plaintiff’s Motion for Relief from Scheduling Order Deadlines (DE 36) is DENIED AS MOOT;”
“Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss (DE 4) is granted and Plaintiff’s causes of action against SCDPS for Negligent Infliction of Emotional Distress, Outrage, and any claims pursuant to § 1983 are dismissed.”
“Delaney’s Motion for Summary Judgment is granted as to McDowell’s negligence, abuse of process and negligent infliction of emotional distress claims, as well as any claim brought under the Eighth Amendment, but denied as to McDowell’s Fourth Amendment claim brought under § 1983, as well as Plaintiff’s state-law claims for false arrest/false imprisonment, malicious prosecution, and assault and battery. (DE 44.)”
“SCDPS’s Motion for Summary Judgment is granted as to Plaintiff’s malicious prosecution claim, abuse of process claim, and any simple negligence claim, but denied as to Plaintiff’s false arrest/false imprisonment claim, his assault and battery claim, and his gross negligence claim. (DE 46.)”
“Because this Court overrules Delaney’s (DE 67) objections, the Court finds as moot McDowell’s Motion to Strike Delaney’s Objections (DE 71).”
“Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment (DE 75) is GRANTED as to Plaintiffs’ federal claims.”
“Plaintiff’s Motion to Alter or Amend Judgment (DE 60) is DENIED.”
“Nucor Steel Sales Corporation’s Motion to Dismiss (DE 14) is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART.”
“Motion for Summary Judgment (DE 17) is GRANTED.”
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 | 9 |
| Report | Motions over six months | Cases over three years |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | 0 | 9 |
| Sep 2025 | 0 | 10 |
| Mar 2025 | 0 | 12 |
| Sep 2024 | 0 | 12 |
| Mar 2024 | 0 | 14 |
| Sep 2023 | 0 | 20 |
| Mar 2023 | 0 | 19 |
| Sep 2022 | 0 | 19 |
| Mar 2022 | 0 | 16 |
| Sep 2021 | 4 | 8 |
| Mar 2021 | 0 | 2 |
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 United States District Court for the District of South Carolina, not for Judge Dawson: 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 | 2,805 | 7.8 months |
| Closed with no court action | 724 | 5.1 months |
| Closed before pretrial | 2,005 | 8.6 months |
| Closed during or after pretrial | 64 | 17.9 months |
| Closed during trial | 12 | 36 months |
| 12 months ending | Cases closed | Median time |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 2,805 | 7.8 months |
| Sep 2024 | 5,800 | 12.2 months |
| Sep 2023 | 2,296 | 8.5 months |
| Sep 2022 | 2,364 | 9.8 months |
| Sep 2021 | 2,599 | 10 months |
| Sep 2020 | 2,190 | 10.1 months |
| Sep 2019 | 2,402 | 9.8 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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