William Scott Hardy
How Judge Hardy decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
On a Social Security appeal he applies harmless-error rigorously: an ALJ's failure to address a particular item (here an emotional-support animal) is immaterial absent record evidence that it was 'medically necessary', and a borderline-age argument fails where the ALJ relied on vocational-expert testimony tied to the claimant's actual age and limitations.
“there is no other evidence that would show Rentz's cat was ‘medically necessary’”
Procedural preferences
When he dismisses on 12(b)(6) he strongly favors curable dismissals: he dismisses the deficient claim WITHOUT prejudice and sets a dated leave to amend, with failure to replead converting it to a with-prejudice dismissal -- so a well-pleaded amended complaint is the expected next step, not the end of the case.
“dismissed without prejudice pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) ... Canaan will be afforded time to amend the claim that the Court has dismissed”
On an adopted Magistrate Judge R&R he does not rubber-stamp: he will adopt the recommended disposition in part (e.g. Eleventh Amendment immunity) while expressly declining the R&R's reasoning on a separate ground (the Heck bar) and substituting his own analysis.
“The Court adopts the R&R (ECF No. 23) as the opinion of the Court in part ... The Court does not adopt the R&R with respect to its analysis of the Heck bar.”
Cautions
He enforces motion deadlines: a belated request for LEAVE to file a Rule 12(c) judgment-on-the-pleadings motion was denied in a long-pending case, so a defendant who sits on a dispositive theory may lose the chance to raise it.
“motion for leave to file a motion for judgment on the pleadings pursuant to Rule 12(c) will be denied”
On summary judgment he resists deciding fact-bound disputes prematurely: a defense MSJ was denied where the record was incomplete, and he deferred a bound-up spoliation-sanctions ruling to closer to trial rather than resolve it on the existing record.
“while the motion for summary judgment is denied, it is proper to defer a final ruling on the issue of spoliation”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“AND NOW, this 22nd day of June, 2023, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment (Docket No. 29) is DENIED.”
“it is hereby ORDERED that the Motion to Dismiss (ECF No. 14) filed by defendants is granted in its entirety. The complaint (ECF No. 1) is dismissed with prejudice.”
“IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Rentz's Motion for Summary Judgment (Docket No. 8) is DENIED and the Commissioner's Motion for Summary Judgment (Docket No. 12) is GRANTED.”
“the Commissioner's Motion for Summary Judgment (Docket No. 12) is GRANTED.”
“Canaan's Complaint is granted in part and denied in part. The motion is granted insofar as Ms. Canaan's IIED claim is dismissed without prejudice pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6), but denied with respect to all other claims. ... Canaan will be afforded time to amend the claim that the Court has dismissed, after which time any failure to file an amended complaint will result in the dismissal with prejudice of that claim.”
“Defendants' motion for leave to file a motion for judgment on the pleadings pursuant to Rule 12(c) will be denied. ... (Docket No. 143), which the Court construes as Defendants' motion for leave to file a motion for judgment on the pleadings pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(c), is DENIED.”
“19) is GRANTED, and the claims asserted against them are DISMISSED pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. ... Should Plaintiff fail to timely file an Amended Complaint, the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendment claims in the Complaint that are presently being dismissed without prejudice, will be dismissed with prejudice.”
“the motion is DENIED to the extent Plaintiff is seeking summary judgment, and the motion is GRANTED to the extent Plaintiff seeks to add the Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole as a Defendant if Plaintiff chooses to file an Amended Complaint.”
“AND NOW, this 25th day of July 2025, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment (Docket No. 25) is denied.”
“Brandi's motion to dismiss Dan and Senta's Amended Crossclaim pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) (Docket No. 41) is DENIED, and her request, in the alternative, to strike Dan and Senta's Request for Relief is DENIED.”
“IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment (Docket No. 20) is DENIED.”
“For the foregoing reasons, Defendant's Motion for Leave to File Under Seal (Doc. No. 77) will be granted, and Defendant shall re-file under seal the unredacted versions of its Memorandum, Concise Statement of Material Facts, and Appendix in Support of Motion for Summary Judgment.”
“Based on the foregoing, Dollar General's Motion for Summary Judgment (Docket No. 26) is DENIED.”
“Defendant's Motion to Dismiss (Docket No. 25) is GRANTED, and Counts I and II of Plaintiff's Amended Complaint are DISMISSED with prejudice for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6).”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
The reviewed matters include a large diisocyanates antitrust multidistrict litigation, wage-and-hour, commercial-contract, insurance, product-liability, civil-rights, and Social Security cases, along with a recent increase in immigration-detention habeas petitions. Several older cases were reassigned to Hardy after he joined the court in 2020.
Put Judge Hardy's record to work
Ezel drafts and answers grounded in this exact profile: how Judge Hardy actually rules, not a generic AI guess.
Opens in Ezel Pro. Every answer is grounded in Judge Hardy's own signed orders and cites them.