Hernán D. Vera
How Judge Vera rules, drawn from 18 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Vera
Hernán Diego Vera is a judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California. Appointed by President Joseph R. Biden, Judge Vera received a commission on June 15, 2023.
Judge Vera's practices and standing orders
Rules for cases before Judge Vera, as published on the court's website (checked October 8, 2026). Judges revise these often, so confirm the current version on the court's site before you file.
- Judge's Procedures and Schedules ↗
- Template - Civil Standing Order (Rev. 03-19-26).pdf ↗
- HDV - Criminal Standing Order (Rev. 4-03-25) ↗
- Template - Scheduling Conference SETTING ORD (Rev. 03-19-26).pdf ↗
- HDV - Civil Trial Order (Rev 09-14-23) ↗
- TEMPLATE - Proposed Final Pretrial Conference Order ↗
- HDV - Instructions for Filing Under Seal Documents in CIVIL CASES ↗
- HDV - Instructions for Filing Under Seal Documents in CRIMINAL CASES ↗
- TEMPLATE - Joint Exhibit List ↗
- TEMPLATE - Witness List ↗
Key rules
Filing
Chambers copies are required for e-filed motion papers and exhibits; other e-filed documents do not require copies.
“The Court requires chambers copies of all e-filed motion-related documents (i.e., moving papers, oppositions and replies), as well as all associated exhibits. The Court no longer requires chambers copies for any other e-filed documents.”
Filing
For summary judgment motions, submit two paper copies of every filing to Judge Vera’s fourth-floor mailbox.
“Additionally, for motions for summary judgment only, parties should submit two paper copies of all Motion for Summary Judgment filings to Judge Vera’s mailbox on the fourth floor of the First Street Courthouse.”
Motions
Civil motions are heard on Thursdays at 10:00 a.m.
“Civil motions are heard on Thursdays at 10:00 a.m.”
Trial
Civil motions in limine are heard Tuesdays at 10 a.m.
“Civil motions in limine on Tuesdays at 10:00 a.m.”
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 8, 2026).
- General Order 11-10: Alternative Dispute Resolution Program ↗
- General Order 19-01: Criminal Duty Matters Electronic Filing Pilot Project ↗
- General Order 20-13: Criminal Duty Matters Electronic Filing Pilot Project ↗
- General Order 18-02: Submission of Certain Prisoner Filings Through Electronic Mail ↗
- General Order 24-07: Criminal Justice Act Plan ↗
How Judge Vera decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In Mendez, Vera denied remand of a vehicle warranty suit after adding potential Song-Beverly civil penalties to the amount in controversy.
“This brings the amount in controversy to $133,262.25, easily exceeding the jurisdictional threshold before even accounting for attorneys’ fees.”
In Bindra, Vera denied dismissal of a financial elder abuse complaint after finding its allegations plausibly supported the claimed knowledge and unfair competition theories at the pleading stage.
“And the detailed allegations in the Complaint outlining the two-year campaign of fraud is amply sufficient to allege the pleading requirements under California’s elder abuse and UCL statutes.”
Procedural preferences
Denies a motion for reconsideration, holding the movant to the limited grounds for revisiting a prior order.
“ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFFS' MOTION FOR RECONSIDERATION 24 by Judge Hernan D. Vera. For the reasons set forth above, Plaintiffs' Motion for for Reconsideration is denied.”
In Benaziz, Vera granted dismissal of the lost-shipment claims against FedEx because the Airline Deregulation Act preempted the pleaded common-law theories.
“All of Plaintiff’s claims against FedEx are therefore preempted.”
Cautions
Grants a defendant's motion to dismiss and terminates the case.
“ORDER RE: DEFENDANT'S MOTION TO DISMISS [DKT. NO. 12] by Judge Hernan D. Vera. For the reasons described above, Delta's Motion to Dismiss is granted. (MD JS-6. Case Terminated)”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“ORDER RE: DEFENDANT'S MOTION TO DISMISS [DKT. NO. 12] by Judge Hernan D. Vera. For the reasons described above, Delta's Motion to Dismiss is granted. (MD JS-6. Case Terminated)”
“ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFFS' MOTION FOR RECONSIDERATION 24 by Judge Hernan D. Vera. For the reasons set forth above, Plaintiffs' Motion for for Reconsideration is denied.”
“For the foregoing reasons, and for the reasons stated on the record at the hearing on August 10, 2026, the Court grants the preliminary injunction”
“the Court grants the preliminary injunction, and grants the petition for writ of habeas corpus for the same reasons.”
“For the foregoing reasons, Plaintiff’s Motion is denied.”
“For the foregoing reasons, Plaintiff’s Motion to Remand is granted.”
“For the foregoing reasons, the Motion is granted and the action remanded to Riverside”
“For the foregoing reasons, Plaintiffs’ Motion to Remand is granted and the action is hereby”
“For the foregoing reasons, the Motion is granted, and the action is remanded back to the San”
“2026, the Court grants the preliminary injunction.”
“the Court granted Petitioner’s PI Application 6 and Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus”
“For the foregoing reasons, Plaintiff’s Motion to Remand is ggranted.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
The reviewed matters include consumer and employment disputes, remand decisions, and immigration-detention habeas petitions. The 2026 habeas matters yielded injunction and petition grants. Durations below reflect the earlier terminated-case sample, not all assigned cases.
Pending matters in the official report
Reported by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts under the Civil Justice Reform Act, as of March 31, 2026.
| Motions pending more than six months | 2 |
| Bench trials submitted more than six months | 0 |
| Bankruptcy appeals pending more than six months | 0 |
| Social Security appeals pending more than six months | 0 |
| Civil cases pending more than three years | 5 |
| Report | Motions over six months | Cases over three years |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | 2 | 5 |
| Sep 2025 | 0 | 7 |
| Mar 2025 | 0 | 6 |
| Sep 2024 | 0 | 6 |
| Mar 2024 | 0 | 7 |
| Sep 2023 | 0 | 6 |
A snapshot on that date: matters listed may since have been decided or reassigned. A motion referred to a magistrate judge is counted for both judges. Motions in multidistrict litigation, section 2255 cases and Social Security appeals are not counted, and a very large three-year count is generally a multidistrict docket. Source: Appendix A of the report (PDF); about the report.
How long civil cases take in this court
For the whole of United States District Court for the Central District of California, not for Judge Vera: median time from filing to disposition of the civil cases the court closed in the 12 months ending September 30, 2025, as reported by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.
| Cases | Median time | |
|---|---|---|
| All civil cases closed | 15,190 | 3.9 months |
| Closed with no court action | 4,414 | 3.1 months |
| Closed before pretrial | 10,538 | 4.3 months |
| Closed during or after pretrial | 103 | 17.9 months |
| Closed during trial | 135 | 25.7 months |
| 12 months ending | Cases closed | Median time |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 15,190 | 3.9 months |
| Sep 2024 | 15,348 | 3.9 months |
| Sep 2023 | 13,583 | 4.4 months |
| Sep 2022 | 12,887 | 4.7 months |
| Sep 2021 | 14,213 | 4.7 months |
| Sep 2020 | 14,205 | 5 months |
| Sep 2019 | 13,478 | 4.9 months |
The table leaves out prisoner petitions, land condemnations, deportation reviews, recovery of overpayments and enforcement of judgments, and reports no median for fewer than 10 cases. A district that closed a large multidistrict litigation in the period shows very large counts and long medians for that year. Source: Table C-5, U.S. District Courts (spreadsheet).
Draft for Judge Vera with the record in hand
Ezel grounds your drafting and research in this profile: what has persuaded Judge Vera, and what has not, cited to the signed orders.
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