Dal Millington Lemmon

How Judge Lemmon rules, drawn from 17 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.

Judge Lemmon no longer hears cases. This profile is preserved as a historical record of how they ruled.

Court
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
Position
district
Status
Elevated to a higher court
Served
1947–1954
Appointed by
Harry S. Truman (Democratic)
Commissioned
1947-02-07
Education
Stanford University, A.B. (1908)
Signed orders read
17

How Judge Lemmon decides

Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.

What persuades

At the pleading stage, allegations survived when the record did not establish that relief was impossible under every provable set of facts.

“a complaint should not be dismissed for insufficiency except where it appears to a certainty that the claim for relief could not be sustained under any state of facts which could be proved in support of it.”

Temporary labor relief followed where the evidence showed a planned course of discriminatory hiring-hall conduct and a clear need to restore particular workers.

“The evidence shows reasonable cause to believe that MC&S has engaged in such proscribed practices.”

Procedural preferences

A taxpayer's judicial refund theory had to match the detailed grounds presented in the administrative claim.

“The claim must set forth in detail and under oath each ground upon which a refund is claimed”

The court required clear and convincing valuation evidence before sustaining a bankruptcy turnover amount.

“The evidence to sustain a turnover order must be clear and convincing.”

Cautions

Conditional future injury could not supply federal jurisdiction for immediate injunctive relief.

“Jurisdiction is based on actuality, not prophecy, the pressure of a grievance immediately felt and presently measurable in money of the jurisdictional amount.”

Three related dismissal motions succeeded because equity would have created more inconvenience than the available consolidation of the underlying legal actions.

“The single fact that a multiplicity of suits may be prevented by this assumption of jurisdiction is not in all cases enough to sustain it.”

Signed rulings

A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.

Tuolumne Gold Dredging Corp. v. Walter W. Johnson Co.
· 1947-03-11
Summary judgment (defendants) Granted

“It is therefore ordered that defendant’s motions for summary judgment and judgment on the pleadings be, and the same are nereby granted.”

Motion for judgment on pleadings (defendants) Granted
Wooldridge Manufacturing Co. v. R. G. La Tourneau, Inc.
· 1948-03-08
Motions to dismiss (defendants) Denied

“Therefore, defendants’ motions to dismiss and to strike are denied, but under the provisions of Rule 12(d) of the Federal Rules of Procedure, without prejudice to their renewal at the time of trial.”

Motions to strike (defendants) Denied
American Distilling Co. v. City of Sausalito
· 1947-07-31
Preliminary injunction (plaintiff) Denied

“The statutory requirements to confer jurisdiction upon this court not being met. (28 U.S.C.A. § 41), it is hereby ordered that the motion for a preliminary injunction be denied.”

Christian v. Preferred Accident Insurance Co.
· 1950-04-04
Motions to strike (defendant insurers) Granted

“Therefore count one of the complaint is dismissed.”

Motions to strike (defendant insurers) Granted

“No statutory authority existing for recovery of attorneys’ fees, plaintiff's prayer therefor shall be stricken.”

Pierce v. Perlite Aggregates, Inc.
· 1952-12-23
Motions to dismiss (patent defendants) Granted

“As to both Said defendants, therefore, the amended complaint is dismissed for lack of venue.”

In re Pedisich
· 1951-05-14
Petition for fees and costs (debtor's attorneys) Granted in part

“It appears that costs and expenses were incurred by said attorneys, or some of them, other than in connection with the cases instituted by Louis Hozz and Ettie Hozz or in connection with the case of Creedon v. Pedisich *201and the matter is re-referred to the Referee with directions to the Referee to segregate such costs incurred in the administration of the debtor estate and which were incurred other than those here disallowed and which were foi the benefit of the debtor estate.”

In re Livingston
· 1950-01-10
Petition to review referee order (Bank of Lake) Granted

“The order should be and is set aside and the Referee is directed to take evidence and determine these facts and the reasonable value of the truck or property taken.”

Yuba Consolidated Gold Fields v. Kilkeary
· 1952-02-05
Motions to dismiss (first defendant group) Granted

“The complaint is therefore dismissed, without prejudice to the plaintiffs right to urge any defenses that it may properly present in any future action or actions at law.”

Motions to dismiss (second defendant group) Granted
Motions to dismiss (third defendant group) Granted
In re Hedgeside Distillery Corp.
· 1952-08-23
Petition to review referee order (bankruptcy trustee and bank) Denied

“The Referee’s Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, except as hereinbefore noted, and his Order are approved and affirmed.”

Brown v. National Union of Marine Cooks and Stewards
· 1951-11-20
Preliminary injunction (National Labor Relations Board regional director) Granted in part

“A mandatory injunction requiring restoration of Leslie Boatwright, John Tiernan, Harry Whitelaw, Robert Stewart, Leonard Kralko and James Randall to their former jobs is proper. Charles A. Copeland is entitled to a requirement that MC&S issue an assignment slip to the position he had just prior to the time he was screened off.”

French v. Smyth
· 1952-10-14
Motion for new trial (plaintiffs) Granted

“The plaintiffs’ motion for a new trial was granted by this Court on November 22, 1950.”

Motion to join party and amend (plaintiffs) Granted

“By order entered December 13, 1951, this Court denied the motion of defendant Smyth, and granted the plaintiffs’ motion for leave to .file amended complaints and to join Berliner as a party defendant.”

Motion to reconsider (defendant Smyth) Denied
Collins v. Heinze
· 1954-03-04
Habeas petition (state prisoner) Denied

“The petition is denied.”

Caseload & timing

From public federal docket records for this judge.

Lemmon's reported Northern District of California decisions include patent, insurance, bankruptcy, labor, tax, maritime, venue, and habeas disputes. No electronic records are available to quantify his caseload.

A historical record

Judge Lemmon 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.