Stephen John Roth
Judge Roth no longer hears cases. This profile is preserved as a historical record of how they ruled.
How Judge Roth decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
Roth required factual allegations showing arbitrary, discriminatory, or bad-faith union conduct rather than conclusory accusations.
“It is incumbent upon the plaintiff to allege those .facts which would tend to show bad faith or discrimination, and not merely advance conclusory statements alleging such.”
He extended official immunity where candid performance of a bank examiner’s work would otherwise be chilled by litigation over adverse criticism.
“A FDIC bank examiner must be free to candidly discuss the problems of a bank, which will almost surely reflect adverse criticism of some individual, without having the fear of being sued for what he says.”
Procedural preferences
Roth required a showing of exceptional circumstances before permitting discovery from consulting experts who were not expected to testify.
“Defendants herein have not made a sufficient showing of ‘exceptional circumstances’ to require the government to reveal this information.”
He rejected post hoc attempts to assign a specific sanction to each union charge when the trial board had treated the charges together.
“Defendant’s assertion that inasmuch as the possible penalty for each finding of guilt was expulsion, the Court must conclude that such was the judgment and decision of the trial board is contrary to reason and common sense and can only be characterized as belated rationalization.”
Cautions
Roth remanded administrative action when the agency failed to explain the rational connection between its findings and result.
“The Commission has seen fit to leave us in the dark. We should not be required to go through the record, catching at straws, which lead us every which way, and in the end force us to guess about a matter which could easily have *591been set right in the beginning.”
He tested residency restrictions against contemporary urban realities rather than accepting historical assumptions about community familiarity.
“Taking into account the realities of city life and the problems of the cities we can only conclude that the three year residency requirement has neither logic, reason nor experience to support it.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“For the reasons stated above defendants’ motions to dismiss for failure to state a claim over which this Court has jurisdiction are hereby granted.”
“Plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment is granted”
“defendant Wiegand’s motion for a new trial or to amend the findings of the court is hereby denied and defendant Westinghouse’s motion for a summary judgment on its cross-claim against Wiegand is hereby granted.”
“The libel filed by Employer’s Mutual Liability Insurance Company against the Aetna Insurance Company will be dismissed”
“plaintiff’s motion to compel discovery of information, exhibits, and expert witnesses of the defendant is granted in accordance with the above ruling; defendant’s motion to compel discovery on oral deposition of all experts retained by the plaintiff is denied”
“the findings and conclusion of the Referee are hereby reversed.”
“the defendant’s motion for summary judgment in his favor is granted.”
“plaintiff may have judgment in the amount of $12,111.21”
“we hold that plaintiffs are entitled to recover from both defendants in the amounts stipulated”
“his claim should be, and it is dismissed.”
“the Commission’s order must be annulled; and the matter remanded to the Interstate Commerce Commission”
“Plaintiff is entitled to be reinstated with full privileges as a member of Local 292 and the International Association; to have all reference to his expulsion expunged from union records; and to injunctive relief prohibiting members, officers, and agents of Local 292 and the International Association from interfering with his right of free speech.”
“Plaintiff did not carry the burden of proving damages as the direct loss of the wrongful expulsion or malice on the part of the defendant, its officers, and members so as to warrant granting punitive damages.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
No exact-name tenure case records were located, so this profile makes no caseload-mix, duration, administrative-disposition, or motion-timing claim.
A historical record
Judge Roth 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.