John Alfred Jarvey
How Judge Jarvey rules, drawn from 20 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
Judge Jarvey no longer sits on this court. This profile is preserved as a historical record of how they ruled here.
About Judge Jarvey
John Alfred Jarvey was a judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa. Appointed by President George W. Bush, Judge Jarvey received a commission on March 14, 2007. Judge Jarvey retired on March 18, 2022.
How Judge Jarvey decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
Treats subject-matter jurisdiction as a true threshold question; alternative merits reasoning cannot carry preclusive force when the earlier court lacked jurisdiction.
“The question of jurisdiction is a threshold issue that must be decided prior to any determination on the merits of an action.”
In National Biodiesel Board v. FutureFuel Chemical Co., Jarvey enforced the agreement’s forum-selection clause after finding insufficient evidence of unequal bargaining power or a conflict with the Clean Air Act, and denied the defendant’s motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction.
“The court finds the forum selection clause valid.”
Procedural preferences
Expects a summary-judgment opponent to answer numbered facts with record citations; failure to do so can result in the movant's factual assertions being treated as admitted.
“The failure to respond, with appropriate citations to the appendix, to an individual statement of material fact constitutes and admission of that fact.”
In Sprint Communications Co. v. Bernsten, Jarvey denied Sprint’s summary judgment motion and granted the competing motions by Windstream and members of the Iowa Utilities Board.
“For these reasons, Sprint’s Motion for Summary Judgment is DENIED and Windstream’s and the Iowa Utilities Board’s members’ Motions for Summary Judgment are GRANTED.”
Cautions
Temporal proximity alone is not enough to carry a retaliation claim through summary judgment when the record lacks additional evidence of causation.
“mere temporal proximity is not alone sufficient to raise a jury question with respect to causation.”
In Guyton v. Tyson Foods, Jarvey denied the plaintiffs’ request for judgment as a matter of law or a new trial because the evidence permitted a reasonable jury to reach its verdict on the challenged wage claims.
“The Court finds that there is evidence in the record from which a reasonable jury could have found that the donning and doffing at issue was not integral and indispensable to the Plaintiffs’ principal activity on a class-wide basis.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“IT IS ORDERED that Defendant's Motion to Dismiss is GRANTED , and the case is hereby dismissed.”
“summary judgment is granted against Mr. Rothgeb’s claims and denied against Keokuk’s.”
“For these reasons, Sprint’s Motion for Summary Judgment is DENIED and Windstream’s and the Iowa Utilities Board’s members’ Motions for Summary Judgment are GRANTED.”
“IT IS ORDERED that Defendants’ motion for summary judgment is GRANTED.”
“IT IS ORDERED that Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment is GRANTED as to Counts I, II, and III.”
“IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Plaintiff's Motion to Exclude Opinions and Testimony of Craig Merrill, Defendant's Motion to Exclude Opinions and Testimony of Richard Kopcke, and Defendant's Motion to Decertify the Class are DENIED.”
“IT IS ORDERED that Defendant’s motion for summary judgment, pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56 is DENIED.”
“Plaintiffs motion for summary judgment is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part.”
“IT IS ORDERED that defendant’s motion to dismiss [Dkt. No. 2] is denied.”
“IT IS ORDERED that the Plaintiffs’ Motion for Judgment as a Matter of Law or, *1082In the Alternative, For a New Trial is DENIED.”
“IT IS ORDERED that defendant FFCC’s motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction (Dkt. 7) is denied.”
“That Defendant Jeffrey Scott Kepler’s Motion to Dismiss (Dkt. No. 18) is granted.”
“IT IS SO ORDERED, that the defendant’s Motion to Suppress Evidence [Dkt. 57] is granted.”
“IT IS ORDERED that plaintiffs’ motion for conditional certification of the following collective action is granted:”
Pending matters in the official report
Judge Jarvey was last listed in the Civil Justice Reform Act report as of March 31, 2022.
| 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 2022 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2021 | 0 | 5 |
| Mar 2021 | 1 | 4 |
| Sep 2020 | 0 | 2 |
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.
A historical record
Judge Jarvey no longer sits on this court. This profile stays available as a record of how they ruled here. If you're preparing for a matter, start from the court's current bench.