David J. Ayo
How Judge Ayo rules, drawn from 10 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Ayo
David J. Ayo is a United States magistrate judge for the Western District of Louisiana. Appointed to the full-time position in 2022, the judge serves in the Lafayette Division.
Judge Ayo's practices and standing orders
Rules for cases before Judge Ayo, as published on the court's website (checked October 9, 2026). Judges revise these often, so confirm the current version on the court's site before you file.
- Magistrate Judge David J. Ayo ↗
- Rule 26(f) Case Management Report ↗
- Pretrial Order Form ↗
- Bench Trial Order Form ↗
Key rules
Filing
Manually deliver courtesy copies when motion attachments exceed 25 pages.
“If the attachments to a motion exceed 25 pages, copies should be manually delivered to chambers at the address indicated above.”
Motions
Contested motions are ordinarily decided on the written record without oral argument.
“For contested motions, Magistrate Judge Ayo decides motions on the basis of the record without oral argument.”
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).
- General Order 0001-2025: Procedures for Access and Management of Sealed or Restricted Documents ↗
- General Order 0001-2024: Procedures for Requesting, Filing, and Management of Highly Sensitive Documents ↗
- SO 1.74 Service and Scheduling of Immigration Habeas Cases ↗
- SO 1.75 Regarding Third-Party Litigation Funding ↗
How Judge Ayo decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In DeSelle v. Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government, Ayo recommended granting a Rule 12(b)(6) motion; the district judge adopted the recommendation with a modification to its standing analysis and dismissed the case with prejudice.
“JUDGMENT adopting 35 Report and Recommendations; granting 20 Motion to Dismiss for Failure to State a Claim. IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Defendant Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Governments RULE 12(b)(6) MOTION TO DISMISS FOR FAILURE TO STATE A CLAIM [Doc. 20] is GRANTED and this matter is DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE. Signed by Judge David C Joseph on 3/12/2026.”
Procedural preferences
In Thai v. Lowes Home Centers, Ayo recommended dismissing a fraudulently joined defendant, and the district judge adopted the recommendation after receiving no objections.
“This matter was referred to United States Magistrate Judge David J. Ayo for Report and Recommendation. After an independent review of the record and noting the absence of any objections, this Court concludes that the Magistrate Judge’s Report and Recommendation is correct and adopts the findings and conclusions therein as its own. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that the Motion to Dismiss Fraudulently Joined Defendant Carl Marceaux [Doc. 8] filed by Defendant Carl Marceaux is GRANTED and Defendant Carl Marceaux is DISMISSED from the suit.”
In Melancon v. Hernandez, Ayo granted Rule 35 neuropsychological examinations with advance notice of potential tests and production of raw testing materials, while declining the requested time and subject matter limits.
“When faced with a lack of specificity as to the anticipated length of time needed by the examiner, courts are reluctant to impose arbitrary time limitations on IME’s, leaning in favor of discovery and expecting that the examining physician will conduct the examination within the time reasonably needed.”
Treats release from immigration detention as a jurisdictional mootness issue when the habeas petition seeks only release and the court can no longer grant that relief.
“Quispe is no longer detained, so the Court cannot grant the relief requested in the PETITION. Therefore, the case is moot.”
Cautions
In Guidry v. Commissioner of Social Security, Ayo recommended reversing the benefits denial and remanding under sentence four of 42 U.S.C. § 405(g); the district judge adopted the recommendation.
“On March 31, 2025, this Court issued its Report and Recommendation, in which it recommended that the Commissioner's denial of Guidry's claim for benefits be reversed and remanded under the fourth sentence of 42 U.S.C. § 405(g). By Judgment issued April 15, 2025, the Court adopted this Court's Report and Recommendation and, accordingly, reversed and remanded Guidry's claim for further proceedings.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“this Court concludes that the Magistrate Judge's REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION [Doc. 143] is correct and adopts the findings and conclusions therein as its own. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that that the MOTIONS TO DISMISS [Docs. 102, 103, 105, 106, 115, and 118] be GRANTED and that all such claims be DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE as prescribed.”
“This motion was referred to United States Magistrate Judge David J. Ayo for report and recommendation... this Court concludes that the Magistrate Judge's report and recommendation is correct and adopts the findings and conclusions therein as its own. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that, consistent with the report and recommendation, Plaintiffs' motion to remand (Record Document 13) is DENIED.”
“The undersigned issues the following report and recommendation pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636... for the reasons explained below, the Court recommends that the motion before the Court be GRANTED.”
“JUDGMENT adopting 35 Report and Recommendations; granting 20 Motion to Dismiss for Failure to State a Claim. IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Defendant Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Governments RULE 12(b)(6) MOTION TO DISMISS FOR FAILURE TO STATE A CLAIM [Doc. 20] is GRANTED and this matter is DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE. Signed by Judge David C Joseph on 3/12/2026.”
“Before the Court is a Report and Recommendation ('R&R'), whereby the Magistrate Judge recommends: (1) the Motion to Dismiss filed by [the Tribal Defendants] be granted to the extent it seeks dismissal of Plaintiff O'Neil J. Darden, Jr.'s ('Darden') claims based upon tribal sovereign immunity... Darden's objections are OVERRULED, Vines objections are SUSTAINED, and the R&R will be ADOPTED as modified herein.”
“This matter was referred to United States Magistrate Judge David J. Ayo for Report and Recommendation. After an independent review of the record and noting the absence of any objections, this Court concludes that the Magistrate Judge’s Report and Recommendation is correct and adopts the findings and conclusions therein as its own. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that the Motion to Dismiss Fraudulently Joined Defendant Carl Marceaux [Doc. 8] filed by Defendant Carl Marceaux is GRANTED and Defendant Carl Marceaux is DISMISSED from the suit.”
“On March 31, 2025, this Court issued its Report and Recommendation, in which it recommended that the Commissioner's denial of Guidry's claim for benefits be reversed and remanded under the fourth sentence of 42 U.S.C. § 405(g). By Judgment issued April 15, 2025, the Court adopted this Court's Report and Recommendation and, accordingly, reversed and remanded Guidry's claim for further proceedings.”
During statutory in forma pauperis screening, Ayo's report and recommendation dated October 23, 2025, recommended dismissing pro se plaintiff Robert Sinegal's complaint and amended complaint with prejudice as malicious and duplicative and for failure to state a claim under 28 U.S.C. 1915(e)(2)(B) and 1915A. Senior District Judge Donald E. Walter adopted the recommendation on November 10, 2025, and a later motion to reconsider referred to Ayo was denied. Quote: 'IT IS RECOMMENDED that this matter be DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE, as malicious and duplicative, and for failing to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 1915(e)(2)(b) and 1915A. ... Signed by Magistrate Judge David J Ayo on 10/23/2025.' This screening disposition did not resolve a party motion and illustrates his Section 1915 practice.
“Because Quispe's claim is moot, IT IS RECOMMENDED that the PETITION FOR WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS [Doc. 1] be DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE for lack of jurisdiction.”
“Considering the foregoing, it is hereby ORDERED that the PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION TO CLARIFY OR CORRECT ORDER OF MAY 7, 2026 [Doc. 32] is DENIED, and the MOTION TO COMPEL RULE 35 NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL EXAMINATIONS AND TO CONTINUE TRIAL AND RELATED DEADLINES [Doc. 31] is GRANTED”
“Considering the foregoing, it is hereby ORDERED that the PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION TO CLARIFY OR CORRECT ORDER OF MAY 7, 2026 [Doc. 32] is DENIED”
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 | 2 |
| 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 | 1 |
| Report | Motions over six months | Cases over three years |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | 2 | 1 |
| Sep 2025 | 3 | 1 |
| Mar 2025 | 1 | 0 |
| Sep 2024 | 1 | 0 |
| Mar 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2023 | 11 | 0 |
| Mar 2023 | 4 | 0 |
| Sep 2022 | 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 Western District of Louisiana, not for Judge Ayo: 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 | 1,541 | 13.4 months |
| Closed with no court action | 287 | 8.9 months |
| Closed before pretrial | 832 | 13.2 months |
| Closed during or after pretrial | 398 | 16.1 months |
| Closed during trial | 24 | 27.6 months |
| 12 months ending | Cases closed | Median time |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 1,541 | 13.4 months |
| Sep 2024 | 3,194 | 16.5 months |
| Sep 2023 | 3,966 | 10.5 months |
| Sep 2022 | 3,186 | 8.8 months |
| Sep 2021 | 1,330 | 8.6 months |
| Sep 2020 | 1,064 | 11.3 months |
| Sep 2019 | 1,190 | 11.5 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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