Robert J. Luck
How Judge Luck rules, drawn from 30 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Luck
Robert Joshua Luck is a judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Appointed by President Donald J. Trump, Judge Luck received a commission on November 19, 2019.
Judge Luck's practices and standing orders
The court's website lists no individual practices or standing orders of Judge Luck's own (checked October 11, 2026), so the court's local rules and general orders are the place to look (court page ↗).
Standing orders for every case in this court
Orders the court applies to all of its cases, whichever judge has them, as published on the court's website (checked October 11, 2026).
How Judge Luck decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In Fox’s hotel-fee class action, Luck held that a court could infer the jurisdictional amount from the complaint but could not supply missing facts through speculation.
“The district court can make common-sense inferences about the jurisdictional amount from the face of the complaint, but it cannot speculate or hypothesize about facts that are not in the record.”
In Hamrick’s delivery-driver arbitration appeal, Luck evaluated the transportation-worker exemption by the drivers’ own work, rather than the earlier route taken by the goods.
“Section one is directed at what the class of workers is engaged in, and not what it is carrying.”
In Del Castillo’s licensing appeal, Luck held that one surviving independent rationale of an earlier panel decision remained binding after a later Supreme Court ruling.
“And it takes only one valid basis or rationale for a prior holding to make it binding precedent.”
Procedural preferences
In B.G.G., Luck held that the district court should have presumed the prosecutor’s Rule 48(a) dismissal request was made in good faith.
“The district court must presume that the government moved to dismiss the information in good faith.”
In Khatabi’s Title VII damages appeal, Luck held that the dealership waived the employee-headcount cap after failing to raise it before trial.
“Because the dealership waived the benefit of Title VII’s $50,000 damages cap, it was error for the district court to apply that cap to reduce Khatabi’s sex-discrimination damages to $181,028.”
Cautions
In BenShot’s Subchapter V bankruptcy appeal, Luck dissented from applying the specified nondischargeability exceptions to a corporate debtor’s nonconsensual plan. The panel majority adopted the opposite reading.
“Because these courts have the best reading of the bankruptcy code, I respectfully dissent.”
In Green and Chambers, Luck would have vacated the restitution award for a deceased victim’s father’s lost wages while attending court. He read the pre-amendment statute as withholding authority for that payment; the majority affirmed.
“Because the district court exceeded its authority, I would vacate that part of the restitution award. Otherwise, I would affirm the defendants’ convictions and sentences.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“AFFIRMED IN PART, REVERSED IN PART, AND REMANDED for further proceedings.”
“We affirm the district court’s summary judgment for the town in all respects. AFFIRMED.”
“REVERSED AND REMANDED IN PART WITH INSTRUCTIONS and DISMISSED IN PART.”
“AFFIRMED IN PART, REVERSED IN PART, AND REMANDED.”
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