Clarence William Allgood
Judge Allgood no longer hears cases. This profile is preserved as a historical record of how they ruled.
How Judge Allgood decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
Allgood looked past transaction labels and treated the economic substance of rent-to-own agreements as controlling.
“the transactions were not true leases but disguised security interests.”
On administrative review, he gave weight to the hearing examiner’s opportunity to observe witnesses when the Appeals Council reached the opposite result.
“The very able and experienced hearing examiner after a hearing de novo during which he had the opportunity to see and hear the testimony of witnesses and to determine the weight to be given to this testimony”
Procedural preferences
He required advance notice before granting summary judgment to a nonmoving party.
“When a party has no advance notice that judgment might be rendered against him, the case must be reversed.”
He declined to consider bankruptcy-appellate issues omitted from the formal designation of the record.
“The appellant has raised on appeal several issues which are not included in the Designation of the Record on Appeal. This court declines to consider these issues in its decision.”
He expected consumer-credit agreements to use precise, legible language understandable to an ordinary borrower.
“Companies should use Revolving Credit Account Agreements which contain precise language that is clear and understandable by the average person.”
Where the administrative record supported competing inferences, Allgood left resolution of those conflicts to the agency factfinder.
“Findings of the Secretary based on either conflicting evidence or conflicting inferences from the evidence may not be disturbed by this court; such conflicts are for the trier of fact, not this court, to resolve.”
Cautions
A claimed agreement affecting land needed a writing; an unexplained oral arrangement could not overcome the recorded judgment.
“If Vaughan and his father did have some agreement about the proceeds of the sale, but for some unexplained reason did not put it in writing, it amounts to nothing more than a parol trust in land”
A habeas petitioner who defaulted a claim in state court had to establish cause and prejudice before receiving federal merits review.
“Wilson has failed to establish cause or prejudice for his procedural default.”
When remanding for additional medical evidence, he warned that noncompliance could lead to summary judgment for the agency.
“Should the plaintiff fail to do so promptly, summary judgment for the Secretary will be directed upon receipt of a proper motion.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“the decision of the Bankruptcy Judge in each of these cases is due to be and hereby is AFFIRMED.”
“this court AFFIRMS the decision of the Bankruptcy Judge and adopts his opinion in its entirety, as published at 115 B.R. 344.”
“Judgment AFFIRMED.”
“this case is remanded to the Bankruptcy Court with instructions that the debtor-defendant Crawford be given an adequate opportunity to respond to the action of the Court in rendering judgment against him.”
“The decision of the Bankruptcy Court denying the debtor’s Application to Compel Allocation of Tax Payments is therefore affirmed.”
“the court is of the opinion that the decision of the Bankruptcy Court must be, and the same hereby is, AFFIRMED.”
“Therefore, the court AFFIRMS the decision of the Bankruptcy Court and adopts its opinion in its entirety, a copy of which is attached as an appendage.”
“The petition for habeas corpus must be, and the same hereby is, DENIED.”
“The decision of the Bankruptcy Judge is affirmed.”
“The order of the Bankruptcy Judge granting judgment to the plaintiff is AFFIRMED.”
“The Order of the Bankruptcy Court should be, and the same is hereby affirmed.”
“REVERSED AND REMANDED.”
“The Motion for Rehearing is hereby DENIED.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Median case duration in the sampled dockets: 1175 days (N = 20).
The 20 located assigned cases were filed from 1982 through 1986 and all terminated by 1991. Thirteen involved Social Security benefits, three were habeas petitions, one concerned public-record access, and three lacked a recorded case type. This small archival slice does not establish Allgood’s career caseload distribution.
A historical record
Judge Allgood 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.