Robert Edward Blackburn
How Judge Blackburn rules, drawn from 24 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Blackburn
Robert E. Blackburn is a judge of the United States District Court for the District of Colorado. Appointed by President George W. Bush, Judge Blackburn received a commission on March 6, 2002. Judge Blackburn assumed senior status on April 12, 2016.
Judge Blackburn's practices and standing orders
Rules for cases before Judge Blackburn, as published on the court's website (checked October 9, 2026). Judges revise these often, so confirm the current version on the court's site before you file.
Key rules
Filing
Use Arial 12-point type for criminal filings, apart from footnotes and endnotes.
“All papers filed with the court by anyone other than a judicial officer shall be in an Arial 12 point font (exclusive of footnotes and endnotes).”
Motions
Most civil motions and responses are limited to fifteen pages; replies to ten.
“all other motions, objections (including objections to the recommendations or orders of United States Magistrate Judges), responses, and concomitant briefs shall not exceed fifteen (15) pages.”
Motions
Civil summary judgment motions and responses are limited to twenty pages; replies to ten.
“Motions for summary judgment or partial summary judgment and response briefs shall not exceed twenty (20) pages. Reply briefs shall not exceed ten (10) pages.”
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 9, 2026).
How Judge Blackburn decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In the reviewed insurance case, an unconditional assignment of all rights and benefits made the assignee the only possible real party in interest, leaving the original claimants without standing.
“Thus, I conclude that the plaintiffs are not the real party in interest and they do not have standing to bring this lawsuit. Infinity Restoration is the only entity which could be a real party in interest in this case.”
A venue-transfer request needs evidence about the witnesses’ materiality and actual unwillingness or inability to appear, not merely their names and locations.
“Yet the government’s mere observation that the five ICE officers implicated by Mr. Fuanya’s allegations are all located in Louisiana falls woefully short of satisfying its heavy burden to prove that Colorado is an inconvenient forum”
Procedural preferences
Failure to oppose a summary-judgment motion does not itself entitle the movant to judgment; the reviewed order still evaluated whether the Rule 56 standard was met.
“In this district, a party is not entitled to summary judgment merely because its opponent fails to file a response to the motion.”
Cautions
For a non-retained expert, listing broad subject areas without the witness’s actual and specific opinions did not satisfy the disclosure obligation in the reviewed case.
“Accordingly, Ms. Ford ‘cannot satisfy her obligations under Rule 26(a)(2)(C) by merely providing a list of topics on which the witness is expected to testify.’”
General indemnity language covering costs and expenses was insufficient to shift attorney fees in the reviewed Colorado contract dispute; the agreement needed an explicit fee reference.
“Colorado law requires a ‘plain, unambiguous agreement’ providing for recovery of attorney fees for the breach of the contract to overcome the presumption that they are not recoverable as damages. Id. at 163. Both the Tenth Circuit and the Colorado courts have interpreted this requirement as requiring an explicit reference to attorney fees in the contract.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“Defendant, American National's Motion for Summary Judgment [#21], filed March 9, 2020, is granted; ... the claims of plaintiff, Patrick Gattenby, against defendant, American National Property and Casualty Company, are dismissed with prejudice”
“Defendant American Family Mutual Insurance Company's Motion for Summary Judgment [#39] is granted in part and dismissed as moot in part; ... summary judgment is granted to the defendant based on the fact that the plaintiffs are not the real parties in interest and do not have standing ... That otherwise, ... Motion for Summary Judgment [#39] is denied as moot”
“Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment [#40], filed October 31, 2024. I grant the motion in part and deny it in part. ... judgment with prejudice shall enter on behalf of defendant Graham Fleming, individually, and against plaintiff Mark Burnett, as to Mr. Burnett's claims for breach of contract and unjust enrichment.”
“That Defendants' FRCP 12(b)(6) Motion To Dismiss [#12], filed December 19, 2024, is granted in part and denied in part; ... That Mr. Erb's claims against Dalton Sprouse and Jon Pompia in their official capacities for monetary damages and retrospective relief are dismissed for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, and otherwise are dismissed as duplicative ... judgment without prejudice shall enter on behalf of defendants R. Dalton Sprouse ... and Jon Pompia ... That in all other respects, the motion is denied.”
“That Plaintiff's Motion To Dismiss Defendant's Counterclaim Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) [#15], filed May 27, 2025, is granted; ... That the counterclaim of defendant, Elliot Snowmobile Tours, LLC d/b/a Monarch Snowmobile Tours, for breach of contract is dismissed with prejudice; and ... judgment with prejudice shall enter on behalf of plaintiff, Vadray Smith ... on its counterclaim for breach of contract.”
“That the motion contained in the Notice of Motion and Motion To Remand to State Court [#22], filed July 13, 2023, is granted;”
“That the motion contained in the Notice of Motion and Motion for Dismissal Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(a)(2) [#19], filed July 11, 2023, is denied as moot;”
“That Defendant's Motion To Preclude Expert Testimony; Fed. R. Evid. 702 and Fed. R. Civ. P. 26 [#45], filed November 13, 2023, is granted; and ... That Seamus Bradley, Eddie Dieker, unnamed representatives of EcoShield Exteriors, and Peter Ridulfo are precluded from offering expert testimony in the trial of this case.”
“THEREFORE, IT IS ORDERED that Defendant's Motion To Transfer Venue or, in the Alterative, To Dismiss for Improper Venue [#21], filed November 30, 2021, is denied.”
“That the pro se Amended Petition under 28 U.S.C. Sec. 2254 for Writ of Habeas Corpus by a Person in State Custody [#13] and the Amended Section 2254 Petition and Attachments [#14] both are DENIED; ... That this case is DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE;”
“It is plain that plaintiff’s transfer to another prison facility moots his request for injunctive relief against officials employed at the prior facility. ... That plaintiff’s Motion for a Temporary Restraining Order and Preliminary Injunction [#3], filed December 11, 2015, is denied.”
“That Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment [#59], filed September 11, 2020, is denied;”
“That Defendant's Cross-Motion for Summary Judgment and Incorporated Memorandum of Law [#64], filed October 1, 2020, is granted; That the claims of the plaintiff are dismissed with prejudice; That judgment with prejudice shall enter on behalf of defendant, Navient Solutions, LLC ...”
“THEREFORE, IT IS ORDERED that Mr. Billings's Motion To Reduce Sentence Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Sec. 3582(c)(1)(A)(i) (Compassionate Release) [#47], filed May 29, 2020, is denied.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Two civil terminated durations were captured (Gattenby 281 days, Williams 557 days). Burnett (1:23-cv-02381) was still pending at last review (partial summary judgment entered, contract/unjust-enrichment claims set for trial). This is not a distribution; a broader terminated-civil sample would be needed before reading it as one.
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 | 2 |
| Sep 2022 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2022 | 0 | 2 |
| Sep 2021 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2021 | 3 | 0 |
| Sep 2020 | 0 | 1 |
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 District of Colorado, not for Judge Blackburn: 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 | 2,669 | 7.7 months |
| Closed with no court action | 497 | 7.6 months |
| Closed before pretrial | 2,076 | 7.2 months |
| Closed during or after pretrial | 63 | 26.2 months |
| Closed during trial | 33 | 39.3 months |
| 12 months ending | Cases closed | Median time |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 2,669 | 7.7 months |
| Sep 2024 | 2,704 | 7.4 months |
| Sep 2023 | 2,560 | 8.5 months |
| Sep 2022 | 2,614 | 9 months |
| Sep 2021 | 2,637 | 8.1 months |
| Sep 2020 | 2,637 | 7.6 months |
| Sep 2019 | 2,577 | 7.5 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).
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