Ellen Frances D'Angelo
How Judge D'Angelo rules, drawn from 21 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge D'Angelo
Ellen F. D'Angelo became a U.S. magistrate judge for the Southern District of Florida in October 2024. She previously served as an assistant U.S. attorney in Florida and the District of Columbia and practiced commercial litigation. She earned degrees from the University of Virginia and Vanderbilt University Law School.
Judge D'Angelo's practices and standing orders
Rules for cases before Judge D'Angelo, 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
A discovery motion may be no longer than five pages and must certify good-faith efforts to resolve the dispute.
“The motion shall not exceed five (5) pages in length and must include a certificate of good faith that complies with Local Rule 7.1(a)(3) and specifically indicates the efforts that were made to resolve the dispute prior to filing the motion.”
Discovery
The response to a discovery motion is due in three business days and limited to five pages; replies require an order.
“Upon the filing of a discovery motion, the non-moving party will have three (3) business days to file a response. The response shall not exceed five (5) pages in length. Failure to comply with these requirements will result in the response being stricken from the docket. No replies will be permitted unless ordered by the Court.”
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 D'Angelo decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
Procedural preferences
In a RICO pleading dispute, D’Angelo recommended dismissal after finding that generalized mailing and promotional allegations lacked the defendant-specific detail required by Rule 9(b). The district judge later allowed amendment.
“Alleging that Defendants ‘mailed something’ or caused someone else to ‘mail something’ is plainly not enough.”
In United States v. Lopez and Taylor, she denied a challenge to a firearms expert after the witness explained how his experience supported identifying a conversion device without firing it.
“Detective Thompson explained how his experience led to the conclusion that what he examined was a machinegun conversion device”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“On January 24, 2025, Judge D'Angelo issued her report recommending that the Defendant's Motion be granted ... Magistrate Judge D'Angelo's Report and Recommendation, [ECF No. 25], is ADOPTED in full; (2) The Defendant's Motion to Compel Arbitration is GRANTED”
“In the Report, Judge D'Angelo recommends that the Motion be granted, and this action be remanded to the state court. ... Judge D'Angelo's Report and Recommendation (DE 39) is AFFIRMED AND ADOPTED. 2. Plaintiff Dylan Letorney's Renewed Motion to Remand (DE 19) is GRANTED.”
“the Magistrate Judge recommends dismissing the Petition. However, acknowledging the possibility that his detention may eventually be long enough to be considered protracted, the Magistrate Judge recommended that the Petition be dismissed without prejudice. ... The Verified Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus [ECF No. 1] is DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE”
“she recommended that the Motion to Supplement be granted ... Petitioner's Motion to Supplement the Record [ECF No. 29] is GRANTED.”
“Judge D'Angelo issued the Report, recommending that the Motion be denied. ... Plaintiff's Expedited Motion for a Temporary Restraining Order and Preliminary Injunction Freezing Specific Assets and for an Immediate Accounting and Limited Expedited Discovery [ECF No. 39] is DENIED.”
“Based on the foregoing, it is respectfully recommended that Plaintiffs' Motion for Default Judgment against Defendants Algo Capital, LLC, Michael Shannon Sims, Holton Buggs, and Robert D. Collazo, Jr. (DE 123) be DENIED.”
“Based on the foregoing, it is ORDERED and ADJUDGED that Defendant John C. Maxwell's Motion for Sanctions (DE 217) is DENIED WITHOUT PREJUDICE as premature.”
“Based on the foregoing, it is respectfully recommended that Plaintiff's Motion for Leave to Deposit Funds, Discharge and Attorney's Fees (DE 18) be DENIED as to Plaintiff's entitlement to attorney's fees and costs.”
“For the foregoing reasons, it is respectfully recommended that Defendants' Motion to Dismiss (DE 34) be GRANTED and that the Complaint be DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE under Rule 12(b)(1) for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. It is further respectfully recommended that all pending motions be DENIED AS MOOT and that this case be CLOSED.”
“Based on the foregoing, it is respectfully recommended that Defendants' Motions to Suppress (DE 92, 99, 111) be DENIED.”
“For the reasons stated herein and on the record at the November 5, 2025 hearing, Plaintiff's Motion to Compel is GRANTED IN-PART and DENIED IN-PART. Plaintiff's request to compel the crewmember's written statement and cover email from Defendant to the FBI is DENIED. Further, for the reasons stated on the record at the November 5, 2025 hearing, Plaintiff's request to inspect the areas on the cruise ship discussed at the hearing is GRANTED.”
“Therefore, Defendant's Motion to Compel (DE 43) is GRANTED. Plaintiff shall attend her medical examination with Defendant's neuropsychologist, and Plaintiff is not permitted to audio or video record any of the examination.”
“Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss the Second Amended Complaint [ECF No. 72] is GRANTED”
“All claims against Third-Party Defendants in the Third-Party Complaint are DISMISSED without prejudice; ... Third-Party Defendants' Motions to Dismiss [ECF Nos. 98, 117, 118, 119, 126, 143, 147, 182] are DENIED WITHOUT PREJUDICE as moot”
“Plaintiff's Motions to Dismiss [ECF Nos. 99, 159] are DENIED without prejudice as moot”
“Plaintiff's Motion to Strike Portion of Counterclaim [ECF No. 92] is DENIED without prejudice as moot”
“Defendant Goldner's Motion for a Temporary Restraining Order and Preliminary Injunction [ECF No. 93] is DENIED without prejudice”
“Therefore, the undersigned recommends that Defendant be found to have freely and voluntarily entered a guilty plea to Count One of the Indictment filed in this case, as more particularly described herein, and that Defendant be adjudicated guilty of that offense as charged.”
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 |
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 D'Angelo: 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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