Jay C. Zainey
How Judge Zainey rules, drawn from 42 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Zainey
Jay C. Zainey is a judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. Appointed by President George W. Bush, Judge Zainey received a commission on February 14, 2002.
Judge Zainey's practices and standing orders
The court's website lists no individual practices or standing orders of Judge Zainey's own (checked October 9, 2026), so the court's local rules and general orders are the place to look (court page ↗).
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 9, 2026).
How Judge Zainey decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In Lovell v. Brookdale Senior Living Communities, Zainey compelled arbitration after finding that the plaintiff’s contract claim depended on the residency agreement containing the arbitration clause.
“The Court finds that Plaintiff embraced the Residency Agreement (containing the arbitration clause) by asserting claims in this pending lawsuit that depend entirely on the existence of the contract (i.e., the breach of contract claim).”
In United States v. Mitchell, Zainey denied compassionate release despite finding administrative exhaustion. The order found that the defendant’s age, substance use, and upbringing were foreseeable when he was sentenced, and that his rehabilitation did not supply an extraordinary and compelling reason for relief.
“the Court cannot find that Mitchell’s age, substance abuse, and upbringing/personal history were not foreseeable at the time of sentencing.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“IT IS ORDERED that the Motion to Dismiss (Rec. Doc. 5) filed by Defendant, United States Citizenship & Immigration Service, is GRANTED as explained above.”
“IT IS ORDERED that the Motion to Dismiss (Rec. Doc. 8), filed by all defendants, is GRANTED. The cause of action stated under the INA and the failure to act cause of action under the APA are each DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction. All other causes of action are DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE.”
“IT IS ORDERED that the Motion to Dismiss (Rec. Doc. 4) filed by defendant, Shell Oil Co. is DENIED.”
“IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Motion to Dismiss or Alternatively for a More Definite Statement (Rec. Doc. 12) filed by defendant, Evonik Corp is DENIED in all respects including the request for a more definite statement.”
“IT IS ORDERED that Plaintiff's Motion for Partial Summary Judgment (Rec. Doc. 21) is DENIED.”
“IT IS ORDERED that the Rule 56 Motion for Partial Summary Judgment on the Issue of Liability (Rec. Doc. 99) and the Rule 56 Motion for Partial Summary Judgment on the Issue of Medical Causation (Rec. Doc. 100) filed by Plaintiffs are DENIED.”
“IT IS ORDERED that the Motion to Remand (Rec. Doc. 6) is GRANTED.”
“IT IS ORDERED that the Rule 12(b)(1) Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Subject Matter Jurisdiction (Rec. Doc. 28) filed by defendants Foreshadow Photography, LLC and Merrill Capps is DENIED, and the Motion to Remand (Rec. Doc. 32) filed by Plaintiffs is GRANTED.”
“IT IS ORDERED that the Motion to Dismiss (Rec. Doc. 3) filed by the Attorney General for the Commonwealth of Virginia is GRANTED and the complaint is DISMISSED without prejudice as to this defendant.”
“IT IS ORDERED that the Motion for Partial Summary Judgment (Rec. Doc. 686) filed by defendants and counter-claimants Martin Operating Partnership, L.P. and Martin Energy Services, LLC is DENIED.”
“IT IS ORDERED that the Motion to Dismiss for Failure to State a Claim (Rec. Doc. 7) filed by Defendant Jeff Landry on behalf of all the state of Louisiana Defendants is GRANTED.”
“IT IS ALSO ORDERED that the Motion to Dismiss Case (Rec. Doc. 9) filed by the Board of Immigration Appeals on behalf of the federal Defendants is GRANTED. IT IS ORDERED that this matter is DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE.”
“IT IS ORDERED that the Motion to Dismiss (Rec. Doc. 6) filed by Defendant, St. Charles Parish Sheriff's Office, is DENIED WITHOUT PREJUDICE.”
“For the reasons set forth above, the Motion to Remand (Rec. Doc. 19) filed by William L. Loyd, Jr., is GRANTED. Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 1447(c), this Court determines it lacks subject-matter jurisdiction and hereby remands this matter to the state court from which it was removed.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Median motion-to-ruling time: 80.5 days (N = 2).
The sampled civil dockets include insurance, housing discrimination, and Social Security matters, while one criminal case concerns trial evidence and jury procedure. The four selected insurance dockets with blank entry descriptions do not support motion-outcome claims. Case durations below come from five earlier terminated matters and are illustrative.
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 | 1 |
| 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 | 11 |
| Report | Motions over six months | Cases over three years |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | 1 | 11 |
| Sep 2025 | 1 | 10 |
| Mar 2025 | 0 | 10 |
| Sep 2024 | 0 | 4 |
| Mar 2024 | 0 | 2 |
| Sep 2023 | 1 | 0 |
| Mar 2023 | 0 | 6 |
| Sep 2022 | 0 | 70 |
| Mar 2022 | 0 | 76 |
| Sep 2021 | 0 | 72 |
| Mar 2021 | 0 | 4 |
| Sep 2020 | 2 | 4 |
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 Eastern District of Louisiana, not for Judge Zainey: 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 | 10,411 | 79.9 months |
| Closed with no court action | 3,511 | 86.6 months |
| Closed before pretrial | 2,814 | 14.6 months |
| Closed during or after pretrial | 4,062 | 86.8 months |
| Closed during trial | 24 | 23.2 months |
| 12 months ending | Cases closed | Median time |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 10,411 | 79.9 months |
| Sep 2024 | 6,506 | 10.7 months |
| Sep 2023 | 6,610 | 24.2 months |
| Sep 2022 | 8,635 | 69.4 months |
| Sep 2021 | 11,535 | 24.9 months |
| Sep 2020 | 16,631 | 36 months |
| Sep 2019 | 9,196 | 10.3 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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