Nan R. Nolan
How Judge Nolan rules, drawn from 8 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
Judge Nolan no longer sits on this court. This profile is preserved as a historical record of how they ruled here.
About Judge Nolan
Nan R. Nolan served as a United States Magistrate Judge for the Northern District of Illinois from 1998 until her retirement in 2012. She helped establish the Seventh Circuit's Electronic Discovery Pilot Program and previously practiced law in Chicago.
How Judge Nolan decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In DeGeer v. Gillis, Nolan allowed a limited search of outside counsel’s backup tapes after finding a specific justification: the former chief executive had directed daily email deletion to keep communications from discovery.
“Defendants provide compelling justification for a limited search of the Cravath backup tapes, which the Court will permit.”
Procedural preferences
In Robinson v. Astrue, Nolan remanded a Social Security disability decision because the administrative law judge found that Robinson could return to past work without asking the vocational expert whether that work existed at the lighter exertional level he could perform. She found the step-four conclusion unsupported by substantial evidence on that record.
“On this record, the ALJ’s conclusion that Mr. Robinson can perform his past relevant work is not supported by substantial evidence.”
In Antelis v. Freeman, Nolan dismissed a Rule 10b-5 claim because the amended complaint did not sufficiently allege scienter. She gave the plaintiff leave to amend under Rule 15(a)(2).
“Therefore, Count I is dismissed with leave to amend.”
Cautions
In Sauer v. Exelon Generation, Nolan denied a protective order barring the deposition of a plaintiff who had been adjudicated incapacitated, citing the presumption of witness competency and leaving memory or communication difficulties to credibility and weight.
“Under the Federal Rules of Evidence, all persons are presumed competent to testify.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“Plaintiffs Motion for Summary Judgment [Doc. 16] is granted, and Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment [Doc. 21] is denied. Pursuant to sentence four of 42 U.S.C. § 405(g), the ALJ's decision is reversed, and this case is remanded to the Administration for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.”
“Defendants M. Scott Gills, Joseph R. Shalleck, and Leroy J. Mergy (hereinafter collectively referred to as ‘Defendants’) move to compel non-party Huron Consulting Services LLC’s (‘Huron’) compliance with a subpoena (Doc. 92). For the following reasons, Defendants’ motion to compel is granted in part and denied in part.”
“For the reasons set forth below, Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss is granted in part.”
“Plaintiffs’ Motion for Protective Order to Preclude the Deposition of Sarah Sauer [Doc. 108] is DENIED. Sarah Sauer is ORDERED to appear forthwith for her deposition.”
“Defendants' Motion to Dismiss [30] is granted in part and denied in part. The claims against Defendants Bloomington Pavilion, LLC and Meisels Family Limited Partnership in Count III are dismissed.”
“Defendants' Motion to Strike [58] is granted in part and denied in part.”
“Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment [Doc. 43] and Morgan's Motion for Summary Judgment [Doc. 45] are both granted in part and denied in part.”
“For these reasons, the Court finds that the settlement agreement between Plaintiff Evelyn LaJeunesse and the Estate was made in good faith pursuant to Section 2(c) of the Joint Tortfeasor Contribution Act, 740 ILCS 100/2(c). The contribution claim of Ford Motor Company is dismissed with prejudice.”
“As described above, and in the concurrently filed Order, Plaintiffs' Motion for Discovery Sanctions Against Defendants [Doc. 459] is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part. Plaintiffs' request for fees and costs is denied without prejudice.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Median case duration in the sampled dockets: 357 days (N = 2).
Median motion-to-ruling time: 131 days (N = 1).
- Nolan's docket combined two streams: full consent cases she carried to final judgment under 28 U.S.C. 636(c), Social Security disability appeals and civil matters including securities, and a large volume of pretrial discovery supervision in cases referred to her by district judges, where she became a nationally recognized e-discovery authority.
- The durations below are drawn from two of her contested consent merits cases and are a tiny, selection-biased sample of her hardest-fought matters, not a random caseload median.
A historical record
Judge Nolan 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.