William E. Callahan, Jr.
Judge Callahan no longer hears cases. This profile is preserved as a historical record of how they ruled.
How Judge Callahan decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
At the pleading stage he accepts the complaint's well-pleaded allegations as true and asks only whether they state a plausible claim, declining to weigh whether the plaintiff will ultimately find evidentiary support -- so questions of degree (here, whether debt-collection conduct was extreme and outrageous) are left for summary judgment or trial.
“SLS's motion to dismiss Woltring's intentional infliction of emotional distress claim (ECF No. 26) be and hereby is DENIED”
Procedural preferences
Much of his written output comes from cases the parties consented under 28 U.S.C. 636(c) to have a magistrate judge decide through final judgment, so his dispositive rulings are final dispositions, not recommendations.
“the defendants' motion for summary judgment will be granted”
He reads the district's local disclosure rules precisely -- distinguishing the lighter disclosure required for a non-retained treating physician from the fuller report required of a retained expert -- and declines to exclude testimony where the moving party demands more than the rule requires.
“the defendant's Civil L.R. 7(h) motion to bar expert testimony be and hereby is DENIED”
Cautions
He resolves summary judgment claim-by-claim rather than all-or-nothing, so a single order can grant part of a motion while denying the rest.
“the plaintiffs motion for summary judgment will be granted in part and denied in part”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“the defendants' motion for summary judgment will be granted”
“the defendant's motion for summary judgment will be granted”
“the plaintiffs motion for summary judgment will be granted in part and denied in part”
“the defendant's Civil L.R. 7(h) motion to bar expert testimony be and hereby is DENIED”
“SLS's motion to dismiss Woltring's intentional infliction of emotional distress claim (ECF No. 26) be and hereby is DENIED”
A historical record
Judge Callahan no longer hears cases. This profile stays available as a record of how they ruled. If you're preparing for a matter, start from the court's current bench.