Eric Claude Schulte
How Judge Schulte rules, drawn from 14 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Schulte
Eric Claude Schulte is a judge of the United States District Court for the District of South Dakota. Appointed by President Joseph R. Biden, Judge Schulte received a commission on June 3, 2024.
Judge Schulte's practices and standing orders
The court's website lists no individual practices or standing orders of Judge Schulte's own (checked October 9, 2026), so the court's local rules and general orders are the place to look (court page ↗).
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).
- STANDING ORDER 25-03 - In the Matter of Procedures for the Access and Management of Non-Public Documents in Criminal Cases ↗
- Standing Order 22-06 Expert Witness Disclosure Deadlines in Criminal Cases ↗
- Standing Order 23-02 Revising the Procedure for Compassionate Release Motions Under the First Step Act ↗
- Standing Order 24-01 - Disclosure of Jail Incident Reports or Similar Documents ↗
How Judge Schulte decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In El Karmassi v. LOT Corporation, he denied default judgment after an evidentiary hearing because the plaintiff had not established a viable employment-discrimination claim despite the clerk's entry of default.
“The entry of default by the Clerk does not entitle the non-defaulting party to a default judgment as a matter of right. ... Necessary for default judgment are facts in the complaint that constitute a legitimate cause of action, since a party in default does not admit mere conclusions of law.”
In El Karmassi v. LOT Corporation, Schulte found that the pleaded workplace events more plausibly related to an accident and gas leak than to the plaintiff’s race, and denied default judgment on the discrimination claims.
“On the facts pleaded, the Court considers it more likely than not that the actions Defendant took were not based on El Karmassi's race. ... The Court finds it more likely than not that the statements were made not because of El Karmassi's race, but in reference to the leaking gas.”
In Compeer Financial, PCA v. Sunwold Farms, Inc., he appointed a receiver for an insolvent hog operation after finding potential fraud and imminent danger that living collateral would lose value.
“The present situation meets the criteria of an 'extreme case.' Compeer has presented evidence of a potential fraud and that there is 'imminent danger that property will be concealed, lost, or diminished in value.' ... this Court finds that they are all met here.”
Procedural preferences
In Compeer Financial, PCA v. Sunwold Farms, Inc., Schulte expedited a hearing on a receiver request after the lender alleged that its collateral, including 110,000 swine, was at risk.
“An expedited evidentiary hearing was set for Compeer's motions because it alleges its collateral on Defendants' loans, largely Defendants' 110,000 head of swine, are in danger of diminishing in value given Defendants' insolvent position.”
In a municipal engineering dispute, Schulte left an expert’s contested factual foundation for the jury to weigh after finding enough experience and project review to make the testimony helpful.
“Given the full record, the veracity of the factual basis underlying Howard's opinions, namely whether he reviewed and understands the Azzuro system or not, are better left as a credibility determination for the jury to resolve.”
Cautions
In Compeer Financial, PCA v. Sunwold Farms, Inc., Schulte held that the Agricultural Credit Act’s restructuring provisions could not be enforced in that action because Congress provided an exclusive administrative remedy.
“there is no implied private right of action available to enforce the [Agricultural Credit Act] because Congress intended administrative review to be the exclusive remedy for violations of the Act. ... this Court cannot enforce the provisions of the Agricultural Credit Act.”
In an election notice case, Schulte denied temporary relief as moot after officials made the requested changes and the court found no reasonable expectation of a return to the challenged practice. The permanent claims remained open.
“cannot reasonably be expected to return to prior conduct, the Court finds that denial of Plaintiffs' Motion for Preliminary Injunction based on mootness is appropriate.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“ORDERED that Wiest's Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings, Doc. 23, is granted.”
“ORDERED that Plaintiff's Motion for Leave to File Second Amended Complaint and Add a Party, Doc. 32, is granted in part and denied in part in accordance with this opinion and order.”
“ORDERED that El Karmassi's Motion for Default Judgment, Doc. 15, is denied. It is further ORDERED that the case is dismissed without prejudice.”
“ORDERED that Compeer's motion to avoid mediation. Doc. 3, is granted.”
“ORDERED that Compeer's motion to appoint a receiver. Doc. 2, is granted.”
“ORDERED that Defendant Azzuro, Inc.'s Motion for Reconsideration, Doc. 122, is denied.”
“ORDERED that Defendant/CounterclaimantAzzuro, Inc.'s Motion to Exclude in Part Expert Testimony ofLowell E. Howard, Doc. 97, is denied.”
“ORDERED that Defendant Azzuro, Inc.'s Motion for Partial Summary Judgment on Counts VI and VIII of Plaintiff City of Sioux Falls' Complaint is denied.”
“ORDERED that Short Elliot Hendrickson, Inc.'s Motion for Summary Judgment as to Plaintiff's Claims, Doc. 103, is denied.”
“ORDERED that Unison Solutions, Inc's Motion for Summary Judgment, Doc. 93, is granted in part and denied in part”
“ORDERED that Short Elliot Hendrickson, Inc.'s Motion for Summary Judgment as to SEH's Claims Against Unison Solutions, Doc. 102, is denied.”
“ORDERED that Plaintiffs' Motion for Preliminary Injunction, Doc. 10, is denied without prejudice as moot.”
“That Johnson's motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis, Doc. 3, is granted.”
“That Johnson's motion to appoint counsel, Doc. 4, is denied as moot.”
“ORDERED that Defendants' FRCP 55(c) Motion to Set Aside the Clerk's Entry of Default, Doc. 13, is granted.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
The selected dockets include older inherited habeas and prisoner matters, agricultural lending, municipal engineering claims, an election notice dispute, and restaurant civil rights claims. This mix describes the sampled cases, not the entire assigned caseload.
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 | 3 |
| 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 | 1 |
| Report | Motions over six months | Cases over three years |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | 3 | 1 |
| Sep 2025 | 2 | 1 |
| Mar 2025 | 0 | 1 |
| Sep 2024 | 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 United States District Court for the District of South Dakota, not for Judge Schulte: 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 | 236 | 10.2 months |
| Closed with no court action | 76 | 11 months |
| Closed before pretrial | 151 | 8.7 months |
| Closed during or after pretrial | 1 | not reported |
| Closed during trial | 8 | not reported |
| 12 months ending | Cases closed | Median time |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 236 | 10.2 months |
| Sep 2024 | 248 | 11.5 months |
| Sep 2023 | 222 | 9.8 months |
| Sep 2022 | 220 | 12.1 months |
| Sep 2021 | 197 | 13.8 months |
| Sep 2020 | 216 | 11.1 months |
| Sep 2019 | 233 | 10.8 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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