M. Page Kelley
How Judge Kelley decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
Pro se civil-rights plaintiffs get liberal construction at the pleading stage: Kelley found a pro se prisoner's 1983 due-process and equal-protection claims cleared the minimal Rule 12(b)(6) bar and rejected both a favorable-termination-rule and a quasi-judicial-immunity bar to suit.
“Neither the Favorable Termination Rule nor a theory of quasi-judicial immunity bars Plaintiff from pursuing this lawsuit under § 1983.”
Procedural preferences
Kelley prefers to deny a 12(b)(6) motion WITHOUT PREJUDICE and have an antecedent threshold issue (here, choice-of-law) briefed first, rather than dismiss on an undeveloped record. Frame a dispositive argument that turns on choice-of-law as a request for sequenced briefing, not outright dismissal.
“the court recommends that Huntsman's Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss (#6) be denied, without prejudice to the parties raising choice-of-law”
Cautions
On mandamus/agency-delay suits, once the agency provides the relief sought (here, the EAD was issued in late December 2022), Kelley will recommend dismissing the now-moot portion of the claim -- pursuing the mooted relief is futile.
“allowing defendant's motion to dismiss in part”
Motion outcomes
Counted from classified signed orders only. Percentages are shown only where the sample is large enough to be meaningful; smaller samples are reported as raw counts.
| Motions to dismiss N = 4 |
Granted in part: 1Denied: 3 | counts only |
| Summary judgment N = 2 |
Granted: 1Denied: 1 | counts only |
| Motion for sanctions N = 1 |
Denied: 1 | counts only |
A "1 of 1" is one ruling, not a tendency. Treat small samples as illustrative, not predictive.
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“Plaintiff has met the minimal pleading requirements to survive dismissal of his due process and equal protection claims for failure to state a claim under Rule 12(b)(6). Accordingly, I recommend that Defendants' motion to dismiss be denied.”
“I RECOMMEND that the Motion of Defendant Susan B. Whittaker for Summary Judgment on Plaintiff's "Complaint is a Civil Action" (#78) be GRANTED.”
“I FURTHER RECOMMEND that Plaintiffs' Motion for Partial Summary Judgment (#73) be DENIED.”
“the court recommends that defendant's Motion for a More Definite Statement and to Dismiss Plaintiff's Age Discrimination Claim, see #9 ... be denied.”
“that plaintiff's Motion for Sanctions, see #13, be denied.”
“This Court accepted and adopted Magistrate Judge Kelley's Report and Recommendation in January, 2023, thus allowing defendant's motion to dismiss in part.”
“the court recommends that Huntsman's Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss (#6) be denied, without prejudice to the parties raising choice-of-law”