J. Mark Coulson
How Judge Coulson decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
As a 636(c) consent judge he narrowly construes FLSA exemptions and lets a close exemption question (such as whether 'management' was the plaintiff's primary duty) go to trial, denying the employer's summary judgment where a genuine dispute remains.
“Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment (ECF No. 25) is DENIED”
Procedural preferences
On default-judgment references he flags any subject-matter-jurisdiction gap first and has the plaintiff amend before recommending entry of a carefully-itemized judgment.
“I recommend that the Court direct the Clerk to enter the confessed judgment against Defendants, jointly and severally, in the amount of $106,400.00”
Cautions
On a prevailing-party fee petition he grants in part with reductions rather than awarding the full amount requested.
“Plaintiff's Motion for Attorney Fees (ECF No. 101) is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment (ECF No. 25) is DENIED”
“Plaintiff's Motion for Attorney Fees (ECF No. 101) is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART”
“Plaintiff's Motion for Leave to File Affidavit in Support of Fee Petition Out of Time (ECF No. 105) is GRANTED”
“the undersigned recommends that ... The Court GRANT in part Plaintiff's Motion for Entry of Default Judgment Pursuant to Rule 55(b)(2)”
“I recommend that the Court direct the Clerk to enter the confessed judgment against Defendants, jointly and severally, in the amount of $106,400.00”
“For the reasons set forth above, Plaintiff’s Motion for Service of Process by E-Mail (ECF No. 10) is granted.”
“Plaintiff’s Motion to Compel, (ECF No. 33), shall be DENIED as moot.”
“the Court is unable to determine whether the fee sought is reasonable, and Plaintiff’s request for fees will also be denied.”
“Defendants’ Motion to Compel and to Extend the Discovery Schedule (ECF No. 15) is GRANTED.”
“Plaintiff’s Motion to Amend/Correct its Opposition brief is GRANTED.”
“Defendants’ Motions to Dismiss (ECF Nos. 28, 34, and 35) shall be GRANTED and all claims set forth in Plaintiff’s Amended Complaint (ECF No. 17) are hereby dismissed. Dismissal shall be without prejudice”
“Pursuant to sentence four of 42 U.S.C. § 405(g), the SSA’s judgment is REVERSED due to inadequate analysis. The case is REMANDED for further proceedings in accordance with this opinion.”
“Plaintiff’s Motion to Reconsider (ECF No. 17) is GRANTED. The case is REMANDED for further proceedings in accordance with this opinion.”
“Pursuant to sentence four of 42 U.S.C. § 405(g), the SSA’s judgment is REVERSED due to an improper function-by-function assessment, and the decision of the SSA is REMANDED for further proceedings in accordance with this Letter Order and Opinion.”
“the Motion to Dismiss filed by Public Storage and Public Storage Operating Company (ECF No. 23) is hereby DENIED as MOOT without prejudice.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Median case duration in the sampled dockets: 62 days (N = 9).
Median motion-to-ruling time: 57 days (N = 7).
Coulson's consent civil caseload includes removed insurance and motor-vehicle disputes, wage cases, multiemployer pension-fund collections, and immigration mandamus actions that often end quickly once the agency acts. He is also frequently assigned to conduct settlement conferences.
Put Judge Coulson's record to work
Ezel drafts and answers grounded in this exact profile: how Judge Coulson actually rules, not a generic AI guess.
Opens in Ezel Pro. Every answer is grounded in Judge Coulson's own signed orders and cites them.