John A. Houston
How Judge Houston rules, drawn from 10 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
How Judge Houston decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In securities-fraud cases, denies a motion to dismiss where the allegations holistically give rise to a strong inference of scienter under the PSLRA.
“the Court finds the allegations, which include actions by the individual defendants give rise to a strong inference that Defendants acted with the required state of mind. Accordingly, Defendant's motion to dismiss the section 10(b) claim is DENIED. ... Defendants' motion to dismiss is DENIED.”
In TCPA cases, grants summary judgment where the numbers came from targeted skip-tracing lists rather than a random or sequential number generator, so no autodialer was used.
“the undisputed evidence demonstrates Defendant did not utilize an ATDS and, therefore, Defendant is entitled to judgment. ... Defendant's motion for summary judgment (Doc. No. 850) is GRANTED”
Procedural preferences
In consumer class actions, denies a motion to dismiss on standing, Rule 9(b), and restitution grounds while granting it only as to injunctive-relief standing, with leave to amend.
“Defendant's Motion to Dismiss Plaintiff's FAC is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part; a. Defendant's Motion to Dismiss is GRANTED as to Plaintiff's claims for injunctive relief without prejudice; b. Defendant's Motion to Dismiss is DENIED in all other respects”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“Defendant's Motion to Dismiss Plaintiff's FAC is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part; a. Defendant's Motion to Dismiss is GRANTED as to Plaintiff's claims for injunctive relief without prejudice; b. Defendant's Motion to Dismiss is DENIED in all other respects”
“IT IS HEREBY ORDERED Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment is GRANTED, and this action is DISMISSED with prejudice.”
“Defendant's Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Jurisdiction (Doc. No. 21) is DENIED as MOOT and the hearing set for June 3, 2019 is VACATED.”
“the undisputed evidence demonstrates Defendant did not utilize an ATDS and, therefore, Defendant is entitled to judgment. ... Defendant's motion for summary judgment (Doc. No. 850) is GRANTED”
“Defendant's motions to exclude (Doc. Nos. 673, 885) are DENIED as moot”
“the Court finds the allegations, which include actions by the individual defendants give rise to a strong inference that Defendants acted with the required state of mind. Accordingly, Defendant's motion to dismiss the section 10(b) claim is DENIED. ... Defendants' motion to dismiss is DENIED.”
“For the reasons described below, the Court GRANTS the Motion.”
“The Motion to Compel Arbitration is WITHDRAWN as moot.”
“Motion for judgment on the pleadings is GRANTED as to the cause of action for Breach of Written Non-Competition and Non-Disclosure Agreement.”
“Accordingly, the Court DENIES Defendant Pena's motion for sanctions.”
“IT IS FURTHER ORDERED the motion for good faith settlement is DENIED.”
“Court GRANTS Plaintiff’s Motion to Proceed IFP.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Median case duration in the sampled dockets: 153 days (N = 10).
Median motion-to-ruling time: 43 days (N = 5).
Judge Houston's sampled civil docket includes consumer-finance, employment, automotive-warranty, prisoner civil-rights, contract, tax, and public-records disputes. He has continued to receive new matters while serving as a senior judge.
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