James Donato
How Judge Donato rules, drawn from 35 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Donato
James Donato is a judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. Appointed by President Barack Obama, Judge Donato received a commission on February 26, 2014.
Judge Donato's practices and standing orders
Rules for cases before Judge Donato, 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.
Key rules
Conferences
File the joint case management statement at least seven calendar days before the conference.
“The joint statement must be filed at 24 least seven calendar days prior to the case management conference.”
Conferences
Request a case management conference rescheduling in writing at least ten calendar days ahead; a stipulation alone does not change the date.
“Any request to reschedule a case management conference must be made in writing, 22 by stipulation if possible, not less than 10 calendar days before the conference date. Good cause 23 must be shown. The conference date will not be rescheduled unless the Court grants the request. 24 Parties cannot change the date by stipulation.”
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).
How Judge Donato decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In Klein v. Meta Platforms, Donato denied Facebook's motion to dismiss the advertisers' amended antitrust complaint, finding that its challenges to the monopolization allegations raised factual disputes unsuitable for resolution on the pleadings.
“The parties' familiarity with the record is assumed, and the motion is denied. ... Facebook's contentions to the contrary raise factual disputes that are not amenable to resolution in a motion to dismiss.”
In Frasco v. Flo Health, Donato granted Flo Health's motion to dismiss the Stored Communications Act claim and denied it as to the other claims against Flo Health.
“Defendant Flo Health's motion to dismiss the consolidated complaint is granted for the Stored Communications Act claim and denied for all other claims.”
Procedural preferences
In Klein v. Meta Platforms, Donato excluded the users' antitrust injury expert opinion because its proposed trial analysis repeated the deficiencies identified at class certification, then granted summary judgment for Meta.
“Dr. Economides' opinions are excluded, and summary judgment is granted in favor of Meta.”
He excludes expert opinions when a necessary analytical link depends on an assumption that is not supported by record evidence.
“The expert's opinion must rest on actual data, not unfounded assumptions.”
In Roth, Donato reduced a consumer-warranty fee request after comparing billed hours with the limited work required before an early settlement. The example shows that documented hours can still be reduced when disproportionate to the case work.
“Overall, an unduly high number of hours were billed for the few, relatively simple and straightforward tasks that were needed in this case. This type of excessive billing supports the application of an across-the-board, 30-percent reduction.”
In the Google Play Store settlement fee dispute, Donato denied counsel’s initial request because its billing records did not show the work performed or its contribution to the settlement fund. He permitted a detailed amended request.
“The billing records filed with the fees request are utterly lacking in information demonstrating what work was done and for what purpose.”
Cautions
In Frasco v. Flo Health, Donato denied Meta's post-trial motions to decertify the class, for judgment as a matter of law, and for a new trial; he found the decertification request largely repeated arguments from the earlier certification dispute.
“Meta's request is nothing more than an improper attempt to seek reconsideration of the certification order. ... This is enough to deny the request without further discussion. ... Meta's post-trial motions for decertification, judgment as a matter of law, or for a new trial are denied. Dkt. Nos. 765, 766.”
In one proposed mortgage applicant class action, statistical disparities alone did not establish the common question required for certification. Tie the statistics to a common practice that can resolve claims together.
“plaintiffs’ statistical evidence alone does not satisfy Rule 23(a)(2)’s commonality requirement here”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“Defendant Flo Health's motion to dismiss the consolidated complaint is granted for the Stored Communications Act claim and denied for all other claims.”
“The non-Flo defendants' (Facebook, Inc., Google LLC, and Flurry, Inc.) motion is granted for the unjust enrichment claim and denied for all other claims.”
“The claims against AppsFlyer, Inc., which joined the non-Flo defendants' motion, are dismissed in toto. ... plaintiffs have not adequately alleged a concrete and particularized injury caused by AppsFlyer, and so plaintiffs lack standing to sue it. The claims against AppsFlyer are dismissed with leave to amend.”
Donato appointed interim co-lead class counsel and imposed detailed billing and expense rules. The order limits duplicative staffing, requires time entries in tenths of an hour, restricts travel costs, and warns that noncompliant fees or expenses may be excluded.
“The parties' familiarity with the record is assumed, and the motion is denied. ... Facebook's contentions to the contrary raise factual disputes that are not amenable to resolution in a motion to dismiss.”
“The defendants' joint motion to dismiss the DPP complaint is denied. Dkt. No. 204.”
“The U.S. subsidiary defendants' motion to dismiss the DPP complaint is granted. Dkt. No. 202. The DPPs may file an amended complaint by October 3, 2017.”
“The defendants' joint motion to dismiss the IPP complaint is granted. Dkt. No. 205. The IPPs may file an amended complaint by October 3, 2017.”
“The U.S. subsidiary defendants' motion to dismiss the IPP complaint is terminated as moot. Dkt. No. 203.”
“Meta's request is nothing more than an improper attempt to seek reconsideration of the certification order. ... This is enough to deny the request without further discussion. ... Meta's post-trial motions for decertification, judgment as a matter of law, or for a new trial are denied. Dkt. Nos. 765, 766.”
“Meta's post-trial motions for decertification, judgment as a matter of law, or for a new trial are denied. Dkt. Nos. 765, 766.”
“The Court cannot conclude that the verdict here was 'contrary to the clear weight of the evidence.' ... A new trial is denied.”
“Dr. Economides' opinions are excluded, and summary judgment is granted in favor of Meta.”
“the motions for reconsideration are granted and the motion to appoint counsel is granted.”
“the motions for reconsideration and to postpone the deposition (Dkt. Nos. 53, 55, 60, 61, 63) are granted.”
“The opinions and testimony of Jouganatos are excluded, and the determination of Parker's exclusion is deferred to trial.”
“Pro se plaintiff St. Pierre's ex parte application for a TRO, Dkt. No. 52, is denied.”
“St. Pierre's request to ‘supplement’ the third amended complaint with the alleged CAL FIRE incident, Dkt. No. 52 at ECF p. 1, is denied.”
“Reconsideration is denied on both counts.”
In a patent case, Donato issued a second claim-construction order to resolve a dispute that surfaced during a Rule 702 challenge. Reading the claim language, Federal Circuit precedent, and dictionary definitions together, he construed the word "set" to mean "two or more."
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Donato's San Francisco docket includes criminal matters, prisoner and civil-rights cases, consumer and contract disputes, and major multidistrict and class litigation. In Cleaves v. Sopha, he dismissed a lengthy pro se complaint after screening and adopting the conclusion that it still did not state a claim. That disposition arose from statutory screening rather than a motion filed by a party.
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 | 15 |
| Report | Motions over six months | Cases over three years |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | 0 | 15 |
| Sep 2025 | 0 | 16 |
| Mar 2025 | 1 | 17 |
| Sep 2024 | 0 | 24 |
| Mar 2024 | 0 | 25 |
| Sep 2023 | 0 | 20 |
| Mar 2023 | 0 | 14 |
| Sep 2022 | 0 | 7 |
| Mar 2022 | 0 | 9 |
| Sep 2021 | 0 | 6 |
| Mar 2021 | 0 | 4 |
| Sep 2020 | 0 | 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.
How long civil cases take in this court
For the whole of United States District Court for the Northern District of California, not for Judge Donato: 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 | 6,017 | 7.7 months |
| Closed with no court action | 2,955 | 5.5 months |
| Closed before pretrial | 1,978 | 7.6 months |
| Closed during or after pretrial | 1,052 | 15 months |
| Closed during trial | 32 | 36.9 months |
| 12 months ending | Cases closed | Median time |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 6,017 | 7.7 months |
| Sep 2024 | 9,248 | 20.6 months |
| Sep 2023 | 5,452 | 7 months |
| Sep 2022 | 9,464 | 11.4 months |
| Sep 2021 | 6,437 | 6.3 months |
| Sep 2020 | 6,881 | 11.4 months |
| Sep 2019 | 5,640 | 8.7 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 Donato with the record in hand
Ezel grounds your drafting and research in this profile: what has persuaded Judge Donato, and what has not, cited to the signed orders.
Opens in Ezel Pro.
- Grounded in Judge Donato's own signed orders
- Cites every source it relies on, so you can verify it
- Chat, drafting and research in one workspace