Karen LeCraft Henderson
How Judge Henderson rules, drawn from 17 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
How Judge Henderson decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In Duc, Henderson applied the rule that a claim cannot proceed when the party bearing the trial burden produces no evidence on an essential element.
“the plain language of Rule 56(c) mandates the entry of summary judgment ... against a party who fails ... to establish the existence of an element essential to that party’s case”
In National Fire, Henderson focused on whether the public owner had materially changed position rather than treating every negligent bidding error as an absolute bar to relief.
“Rescission, however, may be granted for unilateral mistake even when the mistaken party is negligent”
Procedural preferences
In Grass Roots, Henderson required any statehouse permitting process to constrain delay and discretion while leaving alternative channels for expression.
“any licensing process developed by the defendants must be content neutral and any delay caused thereby must be narrowly tailored to a legitimate government interest unrelated to the content of the expression.”
In South Carolina National Bank, Henderson enforced a foreign judgment after the bank abandoned its jurisdictional objection through merits appeals.
“waiver of jurisdiction need not be voluntary.”
Cautions
In Duc, Henderson required an independent duty before treating alleged nonperformance of a service agreement as negligence rather than contract breach.
“in order for a plaintiff to state a claim in tort, he must allege a duty owed him by the defendant separate and distinct from any duty owed under a contract”
In Heritage Village, Henderson read the tax anti-injunction rule to bar relief protecting contributors who were not themselves in bankruptcy.
“the bankruptcy court lacks such jurisdiction.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“the Court accepts the magistrate’s recommendations and grants the defendant’s motion.”
“the Court grants summary judgment in favor of defendant Roberson.”
“the plaintiff's motion for summary dismissal pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1446(c)(4). For the reasons set forth below, the motion is granted.”
“the Court grants the plaintiff’s motion in part and denies it in part.”
“the Court concludes the bankruptcy court erroneously fixed the creditors’ claims in these proceedings at retail rather than wholesale value. Accordingly, the Court reverses the bankruptcy court’s decision in this respect.”
“Orkin’s motion for summary judgment is granted.”
“Therefore, an attorney’s fee in the amount of Nine Hundred Fifty ($950.00) Dollars is hereby awarded against the plaintiff personally.”
“the Court grants the motion of defendant Brown & Martin Co., Inc. (‘Brown & Martin’) and plaintiff National Fire Insurance Company of Hartford (‘National’) and denies the motion of defendant City of Columbia, South Carolina (‘City of Columbia’).”
“the Court grants the defendants’ motion in part”
“the defendants’ summary judgment motion as to McTeer’s UTPA claim (second cause of action) is denied”
“their summary judgment motion as to McTeer’s conversion claim (first cause of action) is granted.”
“the defendant’s motion for summary judgment is granted and final judgment is entered in the defendant’s favor”
“the Court grants the defendant’s motion and denies the plaintiff’s motion.”
“the Court grants Ford’s motion to dismiss Duke’s third-party complaint”
“grants Duke’s motion to add the South Carolina School Board Insurance Trust as a party plaintiff in this action.”
“grants the defendant’s summary judgment motion in part and denies it in part”
“denies in toto the plaintiff’s summary judgment motion”
“denies both parties’ motions for attorney’s fees.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Median case duration in the sampled dockets: 236 days (N = 5).
The five earliest located matters were filed from June through August 1986. Their available metadata did not identify subject categories; all five were terminated.
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