Jon Phipps McCalla
How Judge McCalla rules, drawn from 19 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
Judge McCalla no longer hears cases. This profile is preserved as a historical record of how they ruled here.
About Judge McCalla
Jon Phipps McCalla was a judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee. Appointed by President George H.W. Bush, Judge McCalla received a commission on February 10, 1992. Judge McCalla assumed senior status on August 23, 2013 and served until death on May 15, 2026.
How Judge McCalla decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In a civil-forfeiture case, treated undisputed facts drawn from the claimant's own guilty-plea stipulation as sufficient to establish the substantial connection between a vehicle and drug trafficking that the government must prove: a claimant's own admissions at a change-of-plea hearing carry real weight even when he separately contests how the evidence was gathered.
“It is undisputed that on January 4, 2014, Wright drove the Defendant vehicle... to the Cinnamon Trails Apartments... Wright stipulated at the change of plea hearing that he was transporting approximately 282 Oxycodone and 400 Dilaudid pills that he intended to sell.”
In Byrd v. United States, Judge McCalla relied on his recollection of the underlying trial to reject an ineffective-assistance claim about counsel’s agreement to redact a prior judgment.
“Where the judge considering the Sec. 2255 motion also presided over the criminal case, the judge may rely on his or her recollection of the prior case.”
In a Fourteenth Amendment state-created-danger claim over a domestic-violence death, distinguished between a municipality's Monell liability (which requires a pled policy or custom, not just a bad outcome in one case) and the individual officers' liability (where the same allegedly deliberate-indifferent conduct was enough to survive dismissal): the same facts can defeat a claim against the government entity while surviving against the individuals who acted.
“Plaintiff's Amended Complaint does not assert or point to a government policy or custom such that liability can attach to Shelby County or the City of Memphis... Shelby County's and City of Memphis's Motions to Dismiss the Sec. 1983 Substantive Due Process Claims against them are GRANTED.”
Procedural preferences
In Spec's Family Partners, Ltd. v. First Data Merchant Services Corp., Judge McCalla denied reconsideration because the motion identified none of the grounds required by Local Rule 7.3(b); he also struck an unauthorized reply brief.
“Plaintiff fails to identify the procedural basis for its Motion for Reconsideration... Because Plaintiff has not specifically shown any of the grounds enumerated in Local Rule 7.3(b), Plaintiff is not entitled to reconsideration of the Court's interlocutory order.”
In Allen v. PSI Services LLC, Judge McCalla dismissed a generic defamation claim that identified neither libel nor slander and did not plead the elements of either, while allowing amendment.
“Plaintiff fails to name a cause of action as he fails to plead slander or libel, instead relying on generic defamation claim; and... fails to plead the elements of the cause of action with enough specificity.”
Cautions
In Cook v. Shelby County Healthcare Corp., Judge McCalla declined to decide the limitations defense against unnamed putative class members before class certification because doing so would have been an advisory opinion.
“If the Court were to nonetheless rule on those individuals' claims, the Court would be issuing an advisory opinion... The Constitution forbids this.”
In Payne’s employment case, Judge McCalla overruled his judicial-estoppel objection, holding that his claimed reliance on his bankruptcy attorney did not establish an absence of bad faith.
“Regardless of whether or not his attorney is to blame for not updating the bankruptcy filings earlier... Plaintiff is bound by the actions of his attorney.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“the Court GRANTS Defendant King's motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction.”
“In view of the fact that Defendant has apparently corrected the error in the Notice of Award, as well as the fact that Plaintiff did not respond to Defendant’s motion, the Court GRANTS Defendant’s motion to dismiss Plaintiff’s Complaint.”
“The Court cannot grant the relief that Defendant seeks... Accordingly, Defendant's motion for partial summary judgment is DENIED.”
“Defendant's Motion to Dismiss (ECF No. 64) is converted into a motion for summary judgment and GRANTED. The above-captioned case is hereby DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE.”
“For the reasons stated herein, the Petition is DENIED and the Respondent's pending motions are also DENIED.”
“Plaintiff's Amended Motion for Summary Judgment is GRANTED.”
“Plaintiff's Motion for Reconsideration is DENIED.”
“Defendant's Motion to Strike is GRANTED.”
“Brown's reliance on Johnson is misplaced because Johnson has no bearing on his sentence... Accordingly, Brown's motion lacks merit and is denied.”
“The Section 2255 motion is without merit and it is DENIED.”
“The motion and the record in this case 'conclusively show that the prisoner is entitled to no relief.' ... His motion is DENIED.”
“For each of the reasons set forth above, Defendants' Motion to Dismiss is DENIED.”
“PSI's Motion to Dismiss for Failure to State a Claim is GRANTED. The instant case is DISMISSED WITH LEAVE TO AMEND.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
The general docket includes Section 1983 civil-rights suits (excessive-force, due-process, and equal-protection claims against municipal and county defendants), Section 2255 motions to vacate federal sentences, commercial contract and trademark/patent disputes, Fair Credit Reporting Act claims, employment discrimination suits, motor-vehicle and general personal-injury cases, and federal-debt-recovery and civil-forfeiture actions, drawn from the Western Division in Memphis.
Pending matters in the official report
Judge McCalla was last listed in the Civil Justice Reform Act report as of September 30, 2025.
| 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2024 | 0 | 1 |
| Sep 2023 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2023 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2022 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2022 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2021 | 1 | 0 |
| Mar 2021 | 3 | 2 |
| Sep 2020 | 1 | 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.
A historical record
Judge McCalla no longer hears cases. This profile stays available as a record of how they ruled here. If you're preparing for a matter, start from the court's current bench.