John W. Reynolds
How Judge Reynolds rules, drawn from 30 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
Judge Reynolds no longer hears cases. This profile is preserved as a historical record of how they ruled here.
About Judge Reynolds
John W. Reynolds was a judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. Appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson, Judge Reynolds received a commission on October 21, 1965. Judge Reynolds assumed senior status on August 31, 1986 and served until death on January 7, 2002.
How Judge Reynolds decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
Reynolds required a concrete record basis at summary judgment rather than an unsupported contention.
“However, Celite does not cite to any record evidence and proposes no facts in support of its contention”
Reynolds required the elements of preclusion to be tied to the parties’ actual participation or legal obligation to participate.
“A holding of claim or issue preclusion requires the court to find that there has been a final judgment on the merits in an earlier action and that the parties in the later action did participate or had a legal duty to participate in the earlier action.”
Procedural preferences
Reynolds enforced scheduling deadlines and required a formal motion to extend them.
“The dates set forth in this court’s scheduling orders are final, and deadlines established thereby can be extended only by formal motion.”
Cautions
Reynolds imposed expenses when a party introduced fabricated evidence that increased delay and cost.
“By offering fabricated evidence Red Stag has shown contempt for this Court, harassed Aida and unnecessarily delayed and increased the cost of this litigation.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“Plaintiff Elmer C. Meyers’ motion for a jury trial as to damages is DENIED.”
“Defendants August G. Erdmann, Walt A. Buckhanan, Rosa M. Dominguiez, Michael J. Soika, Woody Welch, Board of the Fire and Police Commission of the City of Milwaukee, and City of Milwaukee’s motion to dismiss is DENIED.”
“The defendant Circuit City Stores, Inc.’s motion to stay or dismiss this action is DENIED.”
“Defendant Patriot American Hospitality, Inc.’s motion for summary judgment is GRANTED.”
“Plaintiffs Paper Systems Incorporated, Graphic Controls Corp., and Victor Paper Roll Products, Inc.’s motion for class certification is DENIED.”
Reynolds remanded on his own jurisdictional review: “IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that this action is remanded to the Circuit Court of Sheboygan County, Wisconsin.” No party motion was resolved.
“Defendant The Kohler Company’s motion for summary judgment is GRANTED.”
“IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that the defendants’ motion to dismiss the complaint is granted.”
“IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that the defendant’s motion for permission to interview jurors is denied.”
Reynolds remanded on his own motion because all defendants had not joined removal: “IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that this action is remanded to Brown County Circuit Court.” No party motion was resolved.
Reynolds dismissed on his own jurisdictional review: “IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that the complaint in the above-entitled action is dismissed without prejudice.” No party motion was resolved.
“That defendant Red Stag, Inc., shall pay to plaintiff Aida, Engineering, Inc., the attorney’s fees, expert’s fees and other expenses so far incurred as a result of Red Stag’s introduction of evidence fabricated by Red Stag co-principal Paul Pfundtner.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
The historical docket index returned 20 assigned cases, all terminated. Most lacked a coded nature of suit; the coded subset included patent, employment civil rights, and product-liability matters. Five checked docket timelines retained no entries, so no motion-latency summary is available.
A historical record
Judge Reynolds 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.