Cathy Ann Bencivengo
How Judge Bencivengo rules, drawn from 22 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Bencivengo
Cathy Ann Bencivengo is a judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California. Appointed by President Barack Obama, Judge Bencivengo received a commission on February 10, 2012.
Judge Bencivengo's practices and standing orders
Rules for cases before Judge Bencivengo, 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
Motions
Set a noticed motion hearing 35 days after filing the motion.
“Parties filing a noticed motion must set the hearing date to be thirty five (35) days from the motion’s filing date.”
Motions
Before filing an ex parte motion, contact opposing counsel to meet and confer.
“Before filing any ex parte motion, counsel will contact the opposing party to meet and confer regarding the subject of the ex parte motion.”
Conferences
File an ex parte application for a telephone appearance at least one week before the hearing.
“The ex parte application will be filed at least one week prior to the hearing.”
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 514-E: Policy on Privacy and Public Access to Electronic Case Files ↗
- General Order 596: Pro Bono Plan ↗
- Chief Judge Order 144: Standard Procedures for Immigration Habeas Petitions ↗
- Chief Judge Order 134-A: Appointment of Counsel for Certain Immigration Detainees Seeking Habeas Relief ↗
How Judge Bencivengo decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In eMove v. Hire A Helper, she denied the defendants' summary judgment motion.
“For the foregoing reasons, Defendants' motion for summary judgment is DENIED.”
At the pleading stage of an insurance bad-faith suit, Bencivengo found that the insurer’s belated reimbursement of defense costs did not erase the alleged injury caused by the earlier refusal to defend.
“not eliminate the Plaintiffs’ bad faith claim. Rather, it mitigated the Plaintiffs’ damages.”
In McElroy, she let failure-to-warn claims proceed after finding a factual dispute over the bottle warning and whether the risk of using a corkscrew was obvious to consumers.
“Plaintiff has presented sufficient evidence to create a factual dispute for the jury”
Procedural preferences
In Weiss's Social Security appeal, she adopted the magistrate judge's recommendation, denied the claimant's summary-judgment motion, and granted the Commissioner's.
“Defendant’s motion for summary judgment is GRANTED;”
Cautions
In Manlove v. County of San Diego, she dismissed the Fourteenth Amendment, Monell, and false-arrest claims with prejudice while dismissing the Bane Act claim without prejudice.
“(3) GRANTS the motion to dismiss (a) the Fourteenth Amendment claims against all parties, (b) Monell claims against all parties, and (c) false arrest claims against all parties with prejudice; ... (6) GRANTS the motion to dismiss the Bane Act claims without prejudice.”
A generalized safety concern does not overcome the presumption of public access; in Ramos Villanueva, she required specific facts supporting the claimed risk before sealing identifying information.
“Petitioner has not presented specific facts supporting a general allegation of risk to his or his family’s safety.”
She denied a prisoner’s preliminary injunction request where the defendants had not been served and the plaintiff had not shown imminent irreparable harm.
“he has failed to establish the imminent irreparable harm required to support a preliminary injunction.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“For the foregoing reasons, Defendants' motion for summary judgment is DENIED.”
“Plaintiff's motion for summary judgment is DENIED;”
“Defendant's motion for summary judgment is GRANTED;”
“Statutory estoppel does not apply to either the on-sale bar or indefiniteness challenges asserted by Alphatec. The motion is DENIED.”
Under the PLRA three-strikes rule, 28 U.S.C. 1915(g), Bencivengo denied the prisoner-plaintiff's in forma pauperis motion after finding five qualifying prior strikes and dismissed the Section 1983 action without prejudice for failure to pay the filing fee, with no imminent-danger exception. Quote: 'the Court... DISMISSES this civil action without prejudice based on Tyler's failure to pay the full $405 civil filing fee required by 28 U.S.C. 1914(a).' The dismissal arose from screening rather than a merits motion.
“(3) GRANTS the motion to dismiss (a) the Fourteenth Amendment claims against all parties, (b) Monell claims against all parties, and (c) false arrest claims against all parties with prejudice; ... (6) GRANTS the motion to dismiss the Bane Act claims without prejudice.”
“Plaintiffs' claims against Defendants are DISMISSED without leave to amend as no amendments to the complaint would change the Court's conclusion. This dismissal, however, as to Plaintiffs' unreasonable delay claim, is WITHOUT PREJUDICE to refiling should later circumstances demonstrate an unreasonable delay.”
“For the reasons stated above, County Defendants' partial motion to dismiss is DENIED. County Defendants must file their answer to the TAC by November 5, 2025.”
“the Court hereby vacates the defendant's sentence and reenters the judgment in this case, thereby allowing the defendant to notice an appeal if he elects to do so.”
“The Court thus ORDERS Respondents to provide Petitioner an individualized bond hearing before an immigration judge pursuant to 8 U.S.C. 1226(a) and its associated regulations by February 20, 2026.”
“Lopez be temporarily released on April 7, 2026, to obtain medical care.”
“Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss for failure to state a claim is DENIED.”
“the Court DISMISSES this second Petition because Petitioner has not exhausted his administrative remedies with respect to the IJ’s adverse bond determination.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
- The 2018-2022 caseload sample includes immigration and controlled-substance prosecutions, patent and intellectual-property disputes, insurance coverage, consumer protection, employment, civil rights, warranty claims, and detainee litigation.
- The sample reflects Bencivengo's substantial patent docket while also showing a broad general civil caseload; many civil cases resolved after early neutral evaluation.
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 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2024 | 0 | 1 |
| Mar 2024 | 0 | 1 |
| Sep 2023 | 0 | 1 |
| Mar 2023 | 0 | 1 |
| Sep 2022 | 0 | 1 |
| Mar 2022 | 0 | 2 |
| Sep 2021 | 0 | 3 |
| Mar 2021 | 0 | 3 |
| 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 Southern District of California, not for Judge Bencivengo: 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 | 2,204 | 5.3 months |
| Closed with no court action | 642 | 3.3 months |
| Closed before pretrial | 1,066 | 5.3 months |
| Closed during or after pretrial | 484 | 10.4 months |
| Closed during trial | 12 | 38.3 months |
| 12 months ending | Cases closed | Median time |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 2,204 | 5.3 months |
| Sep 2024 | 2,146 | 6.6 months |
| Sep 2023 | 2,133 | 6 months |
| Sep 2022 | 1,974 | 9 months |
| Sep 2021 | 2,381 | 7.4 months |
| Sep 2020 | 1,885 | 6 months |
| Sep 2019 | 2,265 | 6.2 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 Bencivengo with the record in hand
Ezel grounds your drafting and research in this profile: what has persuaded Judge Bencivengo, and what has not, cited to the signed orders.
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