Michael S. Berg
How Judge Berg rules, drawn from 9 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Berg
Michael S. Berg has served as a United States Magistrate Judge for the Southern District of California since 2018. He earned degrees from the University of South Dakota and the University of San Diego School of Law and previously practiced criminal defense.
Judge Berg's practices and standing orders
Rules for cases before Judge Berg, 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
Discovery
Request an informal discovery conference within 30 days after a written discovery dispute arises if meeting and conferring fails.
“they must contact the Court to request an informal discovery conference within thirty (30) days of the event giving rise to the discovery dispute.”
Discovery
Obtain a pre-motion telephone conference or leave of court before filing a discovery motion.
“No discovery motion may be filed until the Court has conducted its pre-motion telephonic conference, unless the movant has obtained leave of Court.”
Conferences
File any request to excuse a required attendee at least seven days before the ENE or settlement conference.
“Any request to excuse a required party from personally appearing must be filed at least seven (7) days before the scheduled ENE or settlement conference.”
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 Berg decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
Procedural preferences
In a settlement involving a minor, Berg independently scrutinized the requested attorneys' fees and recommended reducing them from $58,480.76 to $24,260.36 before approval.
“Judge Berg also recommended that the attorneys' fees accounted for in the settlement be reduced from $58,480.76 to $24,260.36. ... In the absence of objections, the Court adopts Judge Berg's report and recommendation ... the parties' joint motion for settlement [Doc. 35, 40] is granted in part and denied in part.”
Cautions
In Braggs v. Madden, Berg recommended dismissing an untimely § 2254 petition with prejudice; the district judge adopted the recommendation and denied a certificate of appealability.
“On February 7, 2025, Magistrate Judge Berg issued the instant R&R, recommending the Court grant Respondent's motion and dismiss the case with prejudice. ... the Court hereby ADOPTS Magistrate Judge Berg's R&R in its entirety and GRANTS Respondent's motion to dismiss with prejudice.”
In the Abbott discovery dispute, Berg found an expert’s report exceeded proper rebuttal but denied exclusion because the opponents could still depose the expert and file a further response before trial.
“Because no trial date has been set, there is ample time to cure any possible prejudice.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“On December 23, 2022, Magistrate Judge Michael S. Berg issued a Report and Recommendation (‘Report’) recommending the Court grant the motion. ... the Court accepts Judge Berg's recommendation and ADOPTS the Report ... in its entirety ... the Court ... GRANTS the motion”
“Judge Berg also recommended that the attorneys' fees accounted for in the settlement be reduced from $58,480.76 to $24,260.36. ... In the absence of objections, the Court adopts Judge Berg's report and recommendation ... the parties' joint motion for settlement [Doc. 35, 40] is granted in part and denied in part.”
“On February 7, 2025, Magistrate Judge Berg issued the instant R&R, recommending the Court grant Respondent's motion and dismiss the case with prejudice. ... the Court hereby ADOPTS Magistrate Judge Berg's R&R in its entirety and GRANTS Respondent's motion to dismiss with prejudice.”
“On May 23, 2024, Magistrate Judge Michael S. Berg issued a Report and Recommendation (‘R&R’) that this Court deny the Petition. ... the Court ADOPTS the Magistrate Judge's Report and Recommendation, OVERRULES Petitioner's objections ... DENIES and DISMISSES the amended petition for writ of habeas corpus, and DENIES a certificate of appealability.”
“the Court RECOMMENDS that the District Court GRANT the Joint Motion”
“the Preservation Motions are DENIED”
“AFFIRMING the decision of the Commissioner.”
“For the reasons discussed above, Defendants’ Motion to Strike is DENIED.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Median case duration in the sampled dockets: 336 days (N = 10).
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 | 0 |
| Mar 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2023 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2023 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2022 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2022 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2021 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2021 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2020 | 0 | 0 |
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 Berg: 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 Berg with the record in hand
Ezel grounds your drafting and research in this profile: what has persuaded Judge Berg, and what has not, cited to the signed orders.
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