Robert B. Collings
How Judge Collings rules, drawn from 4 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
Judge Collings no longer sits on this court. This profile is preserved as a historical record of how they ruled here.
About Judge Collings
Robert B. Collings served as a United States Magistrate Judge for the District of Massachusetts from March 1982 until his retirement in 2014. He was Chief Magistrate Judge from 1999 to 2001. He earned degrees from Hamilton College and Harvard Law School.
How Judge Collings decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
Procedural preferences
In Walker v. Clarke, Collings entered judgment for prison officials on an inmate's disciplinary due-process claims. He found the inmate received the required process and that the disciplinary findings had some evidentiary support.
“it is ORDERED that the Defendants’ Motion To Dismiss Or In The Alternative, Motion For Summary Judgment (#20) be, and the same hereby is, ALLOWED. Final Judgment shall enter for the defendants.”
In Leo v. Glodis, Collings treated a late Rule 12(b)(6) motion, filed after answers, as a Rule 12(c) motion. He recommended denying it because material factual and qualified-immunity issues remained; his order was a recommendation to the district judge.
“I RECOMMEND that the Motion to Dismiss (#131) and the Defendants’, Glodis and Renaud, Motion to Strike, etc. (#140) be DENIED.”
Cautions
In Hanifin, Inc. v. Mersen Scotland Holytown, Collings denied both sides' summary-judgment motions over an ambiguous contract term. He found at least two reasonable interpretations and left the interpretation dispute for a jury.
“it is ORDERED that Plaintiff’s Motion for Partial Summary Judgment (#28) and Defendant Mersen Scotland Holytown, Ltd’s Motion for Summary Judgment on the Issue of Contract Interpretation (#30) be, and the same hereby are, DENIED.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“it is ORDERED that the Defendants’ Motion To Dismiss Or In The Alternative, Motion For Summary Judgment (#20) be, and the same hereby is, ALLOWED. Final Judgment shall enter for the defendants.”
“it is ORDERED that Plaintiff’s Motion for Partial Summary Judgment (#28) and Defendant Mersen Scotland Holytown, Ltd’s Motion for Summary Judgment on the Issue of Contract Interpretation (#30) be, and the same hereby are, DENIED.”
“I RECOMMEND that Defendant City of Boston’s Motion for Summary Judgment pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 56 (#172) be ALLOWED as to all claims which have been brought against it.”
“I RECOMMEND that the Motion to Dismiss (#131) and the Defendants’, Glodis and Renaud, Motion to Strike, etc. (#140) be DENIED.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Median case duration in the sampled dockets: 553 days (N = 2).
Median motion-to-ruling time: 224 days (N = 3).
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 | 0 |
| 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 | 0 |
| Report | Motions over six months | Cases over three years |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2023 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2023 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2022 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2022 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2021 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2021 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2020 | 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.
A historical record
Judge Collings 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.