Sherri Allen Lydon
How Judge Lydon rules, drawn from 25 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Lydon
Sherri Allen Lydon is a judge of the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina. Appointed by President Donald J. Trump, Judge Lydon received a commission on December 10, 2019.
Judge Lydon's practices and standing orders
Rules for cases before Judge Lydon, 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 attach proposed orders to motions.
“do not file proposed orders as attachments to any motions.”
Discovery
Consult opposing counsel and hold a telephone conference with Judge Lydon 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 Lydon”
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 Lydon decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In Dixon’s online gaming case, Judge Lydon granted arbitration after finding that the website agreement required a neutral arbitrator and allowed Dixon to opt out within thirty days.
“Further, the Terms and Conditions mandate a neutral arbitrator and even permitted Dixon to opt out of the arbitration provision by sending written notice to Stake within thirty days of creating his account.”
In Brockington’s employment case, Judge Lydon held that the pleaded assault claim against an individual supervisor survived the employer’s workers’ compensation exclusivity argument.
“Thus, Defendants’ first theory fails to convince this court that the Act bars Plaintiff’s assault claim against Zaldivar.”
Procedural preferences
When no party objects to a magistrate judge's recommendation, Lydon reviews the record for clear error before adopting it.
“After a thorough review of the Report, the applicable law, and the record of this case in accordance with the above standard, the Court finds no clear error, adopts the Report, and incorporates the Report by reference herein.”
She may adopt a magistrate judge's recommended result while replacing the rationale when intervening controlling authority changes the governing analysis.
“the court accepts the recommendation by the magistrate judge but based on newly decided case law”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“Defendant State Farm Fire and Casualtys Motion for Summary Judgment [30] is GRANTED in its entirety. ... the court finds that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact, and State Farm is entitled to judgment as a matter of law on all claims.”
“The Court GRANTS, in part, Plaintiffs' Motion for Partial Summary Judgment (ECF No. 40) and Defendants' Motion for Partial Summary Judgment (ECF No. 39).”
“Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment, ECF No. 70, is GRANTED, Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment, ECF No. 59, is DENIED, and this case is DISMISSED with prejudice.”
“After a de novo review of each part of the Report to which Petitioner specifically objected, the Court hereby adopts the Report and Recommendation, ECF No. 51. For the reasons discussed above and in the Report, Defendants' motion for summary judgment, ECF No. 44, is GRANTED.”
“Plaintiff fails to show that the court's Order contains clear error of law or manifest injustice, or that he is otherwise entitled to relief under Rule 59(e). Accordingly, Plaintiff's motion to reconsider, ECF No. 57, is DENIED.”
“Accordingly, the court adopts the Report, ECF No. 32, in its entirety and incorporates it herein. Therefore, it is the judgment of this court that Respondent's Motion for Summary Judgment, ECF No. 14, is GRANTED.”
“Accordingly, the court adopts the Report, ECF No. 16, in its entirety and incorporates it herein. Therefore, it is the judgment of this court that Respondent's Motion for Summary Judgment, ECF No. 12, is GRANTED.”
“Defendant Olsten's Motion for Summary Judgment, ECF No. 45, is GRANTED, and Defendant Honda's Motion for Summary Judgment, ECF No. 44, is GRANTED except as to the issue of whether Honda and Olsten were joint employers of Plaintiff.”
“Defendant Olsten's Motion for Summary Judgment, ECF No. 45, is GRANTED, and Defendant Honda's Motion for Summary Judgment, ECF No. 44, is GRANTED except as to the issue of whether Honda and Honda were joint employers of Plaintiff.”
“It is therefore ORDERED that Plaintiff Nationstar Mortgage LLC's motion for default judgment is GRANTED, and the Clerk of Court is directed to enter default judgment against Defendant Barbara J. Gore in the amount of Three Hundred Forty-Three Thousand Five Hundred Ninety-Nine and 45/100 ($343,599.45) Dollars.”
“The Report [ECF No. 26] is accepted, adopted in its entirety, and is incorporated herein. Therefore, it is the judgment of this Court that Respondent's motion for summary judgment [ECF No. 18] is GRANTED in its ENTIRETY, and the petition [ECF No. 1] is DISMISSED without an evidentiary hearing.”
“Defendant's motion for summary judgment [ECF No. 65] is GRANTED, and Plaintiff's motion for summary judgment [ECF No. 85] is DENIED.”
“Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment, ECF No. 106, is GRANTED and this case is DISMISSED with prejudice.”
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 | 0 |
| Report | Motions over six months | Cases over three years |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2024 | 0 | 1 |
| Sep 2023 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2023 | 0 | 1 |
| Sep 2022 | 0 | 1 |
| Mar 2022 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2021 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2021 | 0 | 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 United States District Court for the District of South Carolina, not for Judge Lydon: 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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