David Seymour Leibowitz
How Judge Leibowitz rules, drawn from 33 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Leibowitz
David Seymour Leibowitz is a judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Appointed by President Joseph R. Biden, Judge Leibowitz received a commission on March 1, 2024.
Judge Leibowitz's practices and standing orders
Rules for cases before Judge Leibowitz, 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
Filing
Email a Word copy of proposed criminal orders to chambers after docket filing.
“a Microsoft word version of all proposed orders must be emailed to [email protected] after being filed on the docket.”
Conferences
Absent an emergency, seek criminal deadline extensions or continuances by motion at least 72 hours beforehand.
“Absent an emergency, requests for extensions of time or continuance must be presented by motion no later than 72 hours prior to the deadline or hearing from which the Parties are seeking relief.”
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 Leibowitz decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In Baloa Diaz v. Edi Korta, Leibowitz denied the defendants' summary-judgment motion because a genuine dispute remained over whether the plaintiff had signed the recording agreement and whether the contract was valid.
“A genuine dispute exists as to whether Plaintiff Baloa Diaz signed the Recording Agreement and thus whether the contract is valid.”
In the Doe FTCA case, Leibowitz declined to apply the discretionary-function exception at the pleading stage where the complaint plausibly alleged that agents failed to follow mandatory rules and discovery was needed to resolve that issue.
“Because these issues go to the merits of Plaintiffs’ claims, the proper course of conduct is to allow for discovery rather than dismiss the claims under the discretionary function exception.”
Procedural preferences
In Button, Leibowitz denied a further motion to amend because the proposed amendment would be futile, and he dismissed the case with prejudice.
“the Motion [ECF No. 55] is DENIED as any amendment would be futile. This case is DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“Defendant's Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs' Complaint [ECF No. 52] is GRANTED. ... Plaintiffs' Complaint [ECF No. 1] is DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE as to Defendant Newcoast Financial Services, LLC.”
“For the reasons stated above, it is hereby ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that the Motion [ECF No. 18] is DENIED. Defendants shall submit their answers to the Complaint no later than May 23, 2025.”
“the Motion [ECF No. 24] is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART. Statements 1 through 6, Statement 13, and Statement 14 of the Complaint are DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE. Statements 7 through 12 of the Complaint are DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE.”
“the Defendant's Motion to Dismiss [ECF No. 7] is GRANTED. Plaintiffs' Complaint [ECF No. 1-1] is DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE AND WITHOUT LEAVE TO AMEND. The Clerk of Court is directed to CLOSE this case.”
“Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment [ECF No. 47] is GRANTED as to Plaintiff's federal claims. Plaintiff's remaining state claims are REMANDED to the Circuit Court of the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit in and for Broward County, Florida.”
“summary judgment must be granted in favor of the Defendants on Counts I and II, which are DISMISSED... summary judgement must be granted in favor of the Defendants on the FLSA retaliation counts (Counts IV and IX) which are DISMISSED.”
“Accordingly, summary judgment is GRANTED on this issue... For these reasons, summary judgment is denied. Bobadilla's FLSA wage and hour claims (Counts III and VIII) may proceed to trial.”
“For the foregoing reasons, it is ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that Plaintiff's Motion for Entry of Default Final Judgment [ECF No. 35] is GRANTED. Default final judgment and a permanent injunction shall be entered by separate order pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 58.”
“the Report and Recommendation [ECF No. 74] is AFFIRMED AND ADOPTED. Plaintiff's Motion for Preliminary Injunction [ECF No. 12] is GRANTED. Defendant's Objections [ECF No. 85] are OVERRULED.”
“Defendant's Motion to Dismiss [ECF No. 72] is GRANTED to the extent that it is directed to the claims brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, and DENIED to the extent that it is directed to the claims brought pursuant to Florida law. Counts I and V of the Complaint pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 are DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE.”
“Chetu's Motion for Summary Judgment [ECF No. 101] on Count II of Blue Chip's Second Amended Complaint is DENIED... Chetu's Motion for Summary Judgment [ECF No. 101] on Count IV of Blue Chip's Second Amended Complaint is GRANTED on Blue Chip's theory that Chetu falsely represented that it dedicates an entire team of qualified professionals to each project; and DENIED on the theory that Chetu aggressively enforces the SLAPP Clause.”
“Blue Chip's Motion for Summary Judgment [ECF No. 103] on Count II of Blue Chip's Second Amended Complaint is GRANTED on the theory that the contract's termination clause was breached. Blue Chip is entitled to damages in the amount of $156,000.00 for Chetu's breach.”
“ORDER DENYING 1 Application/Petition (Complaint) for Writ of Habeas Corpus filed by Cedi Pacheco. No Certificate of Appealability shall issue. Signed by Judge David S. Leibowitz on 6/7/2024.”
“For the following reasons, the Motion [ECF No. 10] is DENIED WITHOUT PREJUDICE... Because the Court concludes that there is not yet a proper showing that it has subject-matter jurisdiction, the Court's consideration of the case should end here.”
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 |
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 Florida, not for Judge Leibowitz: 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 | 8,196 | 3.4 months |
| Closed with no court action | 848 | 3 months |
| Closed before pretrial | 7,287 | 3.5 months |
| Closed during or after pretrial | 16 | 10.1 months |
| Closed during trial | 45 | 17.1 months |
| 12 months ending | Cases closed | Median time |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 8,196 | 3.4 months |
| Sep 2024 | 7,755 | 3.6 months |
| Sep 2023 | 20,408 | 0 months |
| Sep 2022 | 8,287 | 3.7 months |
| Sep 2021 | 8,536 | 3.2 months |
| Sep 2020 | 8,657 | 3.4 months |
| Sep 2019 | 9,471 | 3.7 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).
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