Nicole Gina Berner
How Judge Berner rules, drawn from 27 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
How Judge Berner decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
At summary judgment, she treats a verified pro se complaint based on personal knowledge as evidence equivalent to an opposing affidavit.
“A verified complaint ‘based on personal knowledge’ must be treated as ‘the equivalent of an opposing affidavit for summary judgment purposes.’”
A requester may sue after an agency misses the statutory response deadline; constructive exhaustion is enforced to preserve that timely judicial remedy.
“A critical part of that mechanism is the right to sue when an agency fails to respond to a FOIA request within the designated time limit.”
The party seeking continued sealing bears the burden of showing both a fair-trial justification and a narrowly tailored sealing order.
“Loveridge bore the burden to demonstrate why her right to a fair trial justifies maintaining the seal on the video exhibits and to show why the sealing order is narrowly tailored to serve that interest.”
In assessing a Chapter 13 plan's good faith, she credits concrete inconsistencies among sworn documents, expense explanations, and testimony rather than relying on a label alone.
“The bankruptcy court noted that Cook’s supporting documentation contained inaccuracies, that Cook provided shifting explanations for various expenses, and that his in-court testimony deviated from the documentation.”
Cautions
She rejects requiring an employment-discrimination plaintiff to speculate about an employer's subjective motive in order to survive summary judgment.
“No such rule exists in our caselaw, and we decline to adopt one here.”
A party seeking to vacate an arbitration award must comply with the applicable filing deadline; confirmation proceedings do not rescue an untimely vacatur motion.
“First Kuwaiti’s motion to vacate was not timely filed.”
Declaratory relief requires more than a backward-looking ruling that the defendant once acted unlawfully; the requested declaration must address a present legal interest.
“a plaintiff must be seeking more than a retrospective opinion that he was wrongly harmed by the defendant.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“Reversed in part, vacated in part, and remanded by published opinion.”
“Affirmed in part, vacated in part, and remanded with instructions by published opinion.”
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