Jeffery S. Frensley
How Judge Frensley rules, drawn from 31 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Frensley
Jeffery S. Frensley became a United States Magistrate Judge for the Middle District of Tennessee in October 2016. Before his appointment, he practiced criminal defense, employment law, and civil rights litigation in Nashville. He has also served in national Criminal Justice Act panel attorney leadership.
Judge Frensley's practices and standing orders
Rules for cases before Judge Frensley, 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 chamber copies of filings unless Frensley requests them.
“Judge Frensley does not want chamber copies of filings, unless he requests them.”
Motions
File motions to modify case management deadlines at least seven days before the earliest affected deadline.
“Any motion to modify a case management order or any case management deadline must be filed at least seven (7) days in advance of the earliest impacted deadline.”
Conferences
Email the courtroom deputy a Word copy of the proposed initial case management order on the day it is electronically filed.
“In addition to filing the proposed initial case management order, counsel should ensure that a copy is also emailed to the courtroom deputy in Word format on the same date that the proposed initial case management order is electronically filed.”
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 Frensley decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
Procedural preferences
On a motion to remand, applies the Hertz Corp. v. Friend 'nerve center' test for a corporation's principal place of business and places the burden on the plaintiff to rebut the removing defendant's diversity showing; aggregates the ad damnum and damages categories to find the >$75k amount-in-controversy met.
“the United States Supreme Court has held that a corporation’s ‘principal place of business’ refers ‘to the place where a corporation’s officers direct, control, and coordinate the corporation’s activities.’ Hertz Corp. v. Friend ... Plaintiff has failed to present evidence to support her contention that Defendant’s principal place of business is located here.”
In a reviewed venue dispute, Frensley recommended dismissal over transfer after the proper district had dismissed an identical action for failure to prosecute.
“the undersigned recommends dismissal rather than transfer.”
Cautions
In a reviewed disability appeal, Frensley required an explanation adequate to review the treatment of conflicting medical opinions and remanded when the missing explanation was material.
“this error is not harmless and remand is required.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“the undersigned recommends that the Plaintiff’s motion to remand to state court. (Docket No. 10) be DENIED.”
“a Report and Recommendation from the Magistrate Judge (Doc. No. 186) recommending the Court grant the motion to dismiss filed by Defendants Regina Hensley, Michael Barnett, and Rebecca Mink.”
“The Magistrate Judge also recommended the Court grant the motion to dismiss filed by Defendants Tony Parker and Kenneth Williams.”
“the Magistrate Judge recommends the Motion to Dismiss be DENIED without prejudice, noting the deadlines for discovery and dispositive motions were extended”
“the Magistrate Judge recommends that this action be dismissed without prejudice under Rule 41(b) ... for failure to prosecute and that the pending motion for summary judgment (Doc. No. 44) be denied as moot.”
“recommends that the motion for authorization of attorney's fees (Docket No. 12) be GRANTED”
“the undersigned recommends that Defendants' Motion (Docket No. 16) be GRANTED and that Plaintiff's Amended Complaint (Docket No. 11) be DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE.”
“the undersigned recommends defendants' motion to dismiss (Docket No. 11) be GRANTED and this action be DISMISSED.”
“Plaintiff's Motion for Judgment on the Administrative Record (Docket No. 12) is DENIED, and the decision of the Commissioner is AFFIRMED.”
“Plaintiff's Motion (Docket No. 11) is GRANTED, and this matter is REMANDED for further proceedings consistent with this Memorandum Opinion.”
“the motion of Sharon McCutchen and Brian McCutchen to dismiss the complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction (Docket No. 38) be GRANTED and Plaintiff's Complaint be DISMISSED.”
“the undersigned recommends that the motion to dismiss (Docket No. 11) be GRANTED and this action be DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE in accordance with Rules 4(m) and 41(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.”
“the undersigned RECOMMENDS that this action be DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE under Rule 41(b) for failure to prosecute and that the Motion to Dismiss (Docket No. 51) be FOUND MOOT.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Median case duration in the sampled dockets: 101 days (N = 1).
Frensley decides consent Social Security appeals, handles criminal-duty matters, and issues recommendations in civil cases referred by district judges. The sampled referred docket is weighted toward self-represented prisoner civil-rights cases and initial screening matters.
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 | 2 |
| 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 | 2 |
| Report | Motions over six months | Cases over three years |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | 2 | 2 |
| Sep 2025 | 1 | 2 |
| Mar 2025 | 0 | 1 |
| Sep 2024 | 0 | 1 |
| Mar 2024 | 0 | 1 |
| Sep 2023 | 0 | 1 |
| Mar 2023 | 0 | 2 |
| Sep 2022 | 1 | 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 Middle District of Tennessee, not for Judge Frensley: 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 | 1,138 | 8.7 months |
| Closed with no court action | 576 | 7.5 months |
| Closed before pretrial | 543 | 9.4 months |
| Closed during or after pretrial | 9 | not reported |
| Closed during trial | 10 | 28.1 months |
| 12 months ending | Cases closed | Median time |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 1,138 | 8.7 months |
| Sep 2024 | 1,262 | 7.6 months |
| Sep 2023 | 1,090 | 8.9 months |
| Sep 2022 | 987 | 11 months |
| Sep 2021 | 1,007 | 10.6 months |
| Sep 2020 | 890 | 10.3 months |
| Sep 2019 | 982 | 10.7 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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