Wes Reber Porter
How Judge Porter decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
Asked to enforce a DMCA subpoena against an internet-service provider that merely routed peer-to-peer traffic, the judge required proof that the provider itself could remove or disable access to infringing material -- proof a conduit ISP can never supply -- before he would treat the subpoena as valid, regardless of the underlying copyright claim's merits.
“a conduit ISP cannot comply with a 512(c)(3)(A) notice as there is no infringing material to be removed or to disable access to, and, further, the 512(c)(3)(A) notice provision was not intended to apply to ISPs acting as mere conduits.”
On a default-judgment motion, the judge looked past the moving party's own framing of its damages theory and independently confirmed the complaint actually pled the element the defendant's motion relied on -- refusing to assume liability just because default had been entered.
“Handa's Motion also concedes that 'the actual representations that induced him to enter into the Matterhorn Transactions were made by others' ... Without alleging that any representations were made by MAS One, Handa fails to allege facts supporting the first element of fraudulent inducement.”
Procedural preferences
Before recommending dismissal with prejudice against a pro se plaintiff, the judge documents each prior chance she was given to fix a specific, named pleading defect, and only forecloses further amendment once the same defect survives multiple rounds.
“Plaintiff has had three opportunities to sufficiently state a claim for relief. See Compl., ECF No. 1, Amended Compl., ECF No. 37, and FAC, ECF No. 42. Despite these multiple opportunities, Plaintiff has failed to plausibly state a claim for relief.”
In ERISA delinquent-contribution default judgments, he enforces the collective bargaining agreement's own fee-shifting ceiling even when it produces a smaller award than the lodestar the plaintiff's counsel actually billed.
“the Agreement limits attorneys' fees to 25% of the total amount of unpaid contributions and liquidated damages due. ... the Court finds that Plaintiffs are entitled to an award of $11,272.01 in attorneys' fees.”
Cautions
He will deny an uncontested default-judgment motion outright, not just trim damages, if the moving party's own complaint fails to establish liability against that particular defendant under the applicable Eitel merits factors.
“the totality of the factors weighs in favor of denying entry of default judgment against MAS One. Of particular importance is that MAS One has retained counsel and is actively defending against this case, the absence of any misrepresentations made by MAS One in the FAC.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“the Court FINDS AND RECOMMENDS that Plaintiffs' Motion be DENIED and that this action be dismissed.”
“the Court FINDS AND RECOMMENDS that the Petition be GRANTED.”
“The Court therefore RECOMMENDS that the District Court DENY the Shuck Defendants' Motion.”
“the Court FINDS AND RECOMMENDS that the district judge award $140,558.30 in attorneys' fees.”
“The Court FINDS and RECOMMENDS that Handa's Motion for Default Judgment Against MAS One USA LLC be DENIED.”
“The Court FINDS and RECOMMENDS that Plaintiffs' Motion for Default Judgment against Defendant be GRANTED as follows.”
“the Court FINDS that Plaintiffs' allegations, taken as true, are sufficient to establish that Plaintiffs owe no duty to defend or indemnify Defendant with respect to the Underlying Lawsuit.”
“For the foregoing reasons, Defendant United States' Motion for Summary Judgment is DENIED.”
“the Court recommends that Plaintiffs' Motion for Default Judgment against Defendant be GRANTED IN PART AND DENY IN PART as follows... $66,529.92 in special damages and $20,000 in general damages, plus prejudgment and post judgment interest... DENY Plaintiffs' request for punitive damages.”
“The Court FINDS and RECOMMENDS that Plaintiff's Motion for Default Judgment Against Mockingbird Tiny Homes LLC and Chad Unrein as to All Counts of the Complaint be GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART... awarding Plaintiff damages in the amount of $314,379.45.”
“The Court FINDS and RECOMMENDS that Plaintiff's Motion for Default Judgment against Defendants be GRANTED.”
“the Court FINDS and RECOMMENDS that the complaint be DISMISSED without leave to amend and that Plaintiff's fourth IFP application, ECF No. 11, be DENIED as moot.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Consent-jurisdiction caseload in the sampled window spans ERISA/labor-trust-fund collections, insurance coverage disputes, personal-injury and FTCA tort claims, employment and civil-rights claims, a Department of Labor wage-and-hour enforcement action, copyright (BitTorrent) suits, and Social Security disability appeals. Most sampled dockets resolved by settlement or stipulated dismissal before any contested motion was decided; the grounded rulings recovered here came from a smaller subset of dockets -- an uncontested ERISA default judgment, a pro se plaintiff's voluntary dismissal, and a Department of Labor enforcement action with contested discovery and sanctions motions.
Put Judge Porter's record to work
Ezel drafts and answers grounded in this exact profile: how Judge Porter actually rules, not a generic AI guess.
Opens in Ezel Pro. Every answer is grounded in Judge Porter's own signed orders and cites them.