Robert Rees Summerhays
How Judge Summerhays rules, drawn from 37 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Summerhays
Robert Rees Summerhays is a judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana. Appointed by President Donald J. Trump, Judge Summerhays received a commission on September 19, 2018.
Judge Summerhays's practices and standing orders
Rules for cases before Judge Summerhays, 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.
- Judge Robert R. Summerhays ↗
- Guidelines for Submission of Exhibits for Judge Summerhays ↗
- Rule 26(f) Case Management Report ↗
- Pretrial Order Form ↗
Key rules
Filing
Judge Summerhays does not require courtesy copies.
“Judge Summerhays does not require any courtesy copies.”
Trial
Submit all trial exhibits on a portable storage device.
“ALL exhibits must be submitted on a portable data storage device (i.e. flash drive, CD, etc.)”
Trial
Put video and audio exhibits on a separate flash drive from PDF exhibits.
“Video/Audio Exhibits are required to be on a separate flash drive than the PDF exhibits.”
Trial
Submit sealed exhibits on a separate storage device from unsealed exhibits.
“SEALED exhibits must be submitted on a separate portable storage device (flash drive) than UNSEALED exhibits.”
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 Summerhays decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In an excessive force case involving an off-duty officer’s taser use, he denied qualified-immunity summary judgment because the taser logs and internal-investigation testimony supported competing accounts of whether the plaintiff was still resisting.
“Here, however, there is evidence in the summary judgment record that supports both Abshire’s and Trahan’s version of the events.”
In an insurance-coverage dispute arising from alleged oilfield contamination, he granted the insurer summary judgment after applying Louisiana’s pollution-exclusion test to the underlying property claims.
“The pollution exclusions in the Evanston policies unambiguously exclude coverage for the claims raised in the Van Geffen litigation.”
Procedural preferences
In a store slip-and-fall case, he denied the retailer’s summary-judgment motion after a former employee’s testimony raised a factual question about notice; he left attacks on the witnesses’ credibility for the jury.
“But that is a determination for the jury, not the Court on summary judgment.”
Cautions
In an ERISA disability-benefits dispute, he upheld the plan administrator’s termination decision after reviewing its treatment of the claimant’s physicians and its independent medical examination under the plan’s discretionary-review standard.
“The Court finds that the decision of Reliance was supported by substantial evidence and was not arbitrary and capricious.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“The court finds there are no genuine issues of material fact and Evanston is entitled to summary judgment. The court finds Evanston does not owe a duty to defend or indemnity Riceland in the Van Geffen litigation.”
“the Motion for Summary Judgment [doc. 13] filed by Reliance is GRANTED”
“the Amended Motion for Summary Judgment [doc. 19] filed by Plaintiff is DENIED.”
“Accordingly, Abshire’s Motion for Summary Judgment [ECF No. 42] is DENIED.”
“For the reasons set forth above, the motion for summary judgment [ECF No. 48] filed by Defendant is DENIED.”
“IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT for the next 14 days, unless this Court acts to extend or shorten that period: Defendants, including DHS and all of its subdivisions, agencies, and employees, are hereby enjoined and restrained from implementing the Termination Order...”
“The Court has considered Plaintiff States' Motion to Extend Temporary Restraining Order, and IT IS HEREBY ORDERED granting the motion.”
“IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Motion for Limited Intervention [62], filed by Kevin Alexi De Leon De Leon, Alicia De Los Angeles Duran Raymundo, Innovation Law Lab. The motion was argued and is hereby DENIED.”
“IT IS ORDERED THAT the Plaintiff States' Motion for Preliminary Injunction [ECF No. 13] is GRANTED; IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT Defendants...are hereby enjoined from enforcing the April 1, 2022 Order Under Sections 362 & 365 of the Public Health Service Act anywhere within the United States”
“IT IS ORDERED THAT the Expedited Motion to Stay Nationwide Scope of Preliminary Injunction Pending Appeal [ECF No. 97] filed by Alicia De Los Angles Duran Raymundo, Kevin Alexi De Leon and Innovation Law Lab is DENIED.”
“IT IS ORDERED THAT the above-captioned case is hereby DISMISSED AS MOOT.”
“In light of the foregoing, the Court GRANTS PLAINTIFFS' REQUEST FOR INJUNCTIVE RELIEF. The State of Louisiana is prohibited from using SB8's map of congressional districts for any election.”
“IT IS ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that, consistent with the report and recommendation, the Rule 12(b)(6) Motion to Dismiss (Rec. Doc. 53) filed by Mark Garber...Rusty Santiny...and Sara Orgeron...(‘LPSO Defendants’) is hereby GRANTED in part and DENIED in part. Specifically, the Court grants LPSO Defendants' Motion in part, whereby all federal Constitutional claims against them are dismissed but denies LPSO Defendants' Motion in part, whereby all claims against them arising under state law shall proceed on the basis of supplemental jurisdiction.”
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 | 4 |
| Bench trials submitted more than six months | 1 |
| Bankruptcy appeals pending more than six months | 0 |
| Social Security appeals pending more than six months | 1 |
| Civil cases pending more than three years | 10 |
| Report | Motions over six months | Cases over three years |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | 4 | 10 |
| Sep 2025 | 3 | 13 |
| Mar 2025 | 6 | 17 |
| Sep 2024 | 4 | 20 |
| Mar 2024 | 4 | 18 |
| Sep 2023 | 7 | 10 |
| Mar 2023 | 13 | 14 |
| Sep 2022 | 2 | 12 |
| Mar 2022 | 5 | 8 |
| Sep 2021 | 1 | 18 |
| Mar 2021 | 2 | 13 |
| Sep 2020 | 2 | 6 |
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 Summerhays: 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).
Draft for Judge Summerhays with the record in hand
Ezel grounds your drafting and research in this profile: what has persuaded Judge Summerhays, and what has not, cited to the signed orders.
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