Donna M. Ryu
How Judge Ryu rules, drawn from 3 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
Judge Ryu no longer sits on this court. This profile is preserved as a historical record of how they ruled here.
About Judge Ryu
Donna M. Ryu served as a United States Magistrate Judge for the Northern District of California from March 2010 until January 2026 and later served as Chief Magistrate Judge. Before joining the bench, she practiced law in the Bay Area and taught at Golden Gate University and UC Hastings law schools.
How Judge Ryu decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
Procedural preferences
In Painaway Australia v. Natures Investments, she denied default judgment because the plaintiff had not established proper service on the defendant.
“Plaintiff failed to establish that service of the summons and complaint on Defendant was properly effected. Accordingly, Plaintiff's motion for default judgment is denied.”
Cautions
In Nordheim v. Code Tenderloin, she recommended dismissal because the complaint did not allege that the private defendant acted under color of state law.
“The Court dismissed Nordheim's FAC by adopting a report and recommendation by Magistrate Judge Donna M. Ryu. ... In Judge Ryu's report and recommendation, she noted that Nordheim had failed to allege that the defendant—a private party—had acted 'under color of state law' within the meaning of Section 1983.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“The Court dismissed Nordheim's FAC by adopting a report and recommendation by Magistrate Judge Donna M. Ryu. ... In Judge Ryu's report and recommendation, she noted that Nordheim had failed to allege that the defendant—a private party—had acted 'under color of state law' within the meaning of Section 1983.”
“I dismissed Lindblad's previous complaint on these grounds, but granted him leave to amend and address the deficiencies identified in Magistrate Judge Donna M. Ryu's Report and Recommendation, which I adopted in full.”
“Plaintiff failed to establish that service of the summons and complaint on Defendant was properly effected. Accordingly, Plaintiff's motion for default judgment is denied.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
The sample covers civil cases filed from 2018 through 2021 in which Ryu served as the judge of record by consent. It includes False Claims Act, federal tort, disability-access, copyright, and personal-injury matters. The durations measure filing to termination, not motion-to-ruling time.
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 | 0 |
| 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 | 0 |
| Report | Motions over six months | Cases over three years |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2025 | 7 | 3 |
| Mar 2025 | 0 | 2 |
| Sep 2024 | 0 | 3 |
| Mar 2024 | 7 | 3 |
| Sep 2023 | 0 | 4 |
| Mar 2023 | 0 | 3 |
| Sep 2022 | 0 | 1 |
| Mar 2022 | 1 | 4 |
| Sep 2021 | 0 | 3 |
| Mar 2021 | 2 | 6 |
| Sep 2020 | 3 | 2 |
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.
A historical record
Judge Ryu no longer sits on this court. This profile stays available as a record of how they ruled here. If you're preparing for a matter, start from the court's current bench.