James Kelleher Bredar
How Judge Bredar rules, drawn from 20 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
How Judge Bredar decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In Century Metal, Bredar set aside defaults where delay had caused no particular prejudice and a decision on the merits better served justice.
“In summary, the Court concludes it would be inappropriate to leave in place the entries of default and it would be equally inappropriate to enter default judgments against MWI and Worldwide.”
Procedural preferences
In Brown, Bredar paired dismissal with another opportunity to plead where the plaintiff was self-represented and earlier allegations suggested a potentially curable claim.
“In light of Plaintiff’s pro se status and the more detailed allegations contained in Plaintiff’s original complaint, the Court will grant Plaintiff leave to file a second amended complaint.”
He applies the strong presumption of public access to sealing requests, ordinarily requiring the motion, legal argument, and proposed order themselves to remain public and any redactions to be narrowly tailored.
“That high bar means it is almost never appropriate to seal a motion to seal, the legal arguments made in support, or the proposed order.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“CBX’s arguments have been considered and its motion to reconsider will be denied.”
“Defendant’s motion will be granted and Plaintiff’s motions will be denied.”
“CBX has failed to show that it is entitled to partial summary judgment and its motion will be denied.”
“Accordingly, GCC’s motion, treated alternatively as a motion to dismiss for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction, will be denied.”
“the Commissioner’s Motion to Dismiss (ECF No. 10) will be granted without prejudice.”
“The Commissioner’s Motion for Transfer to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia will be denied as moot.”
“his Emergency Motion for Evidentiary Hearing will be DENIED.”
“Belzner’s Emergency Motion for Compassionate Release (ECF No. 407) is DENIED.”
“an order shall issue GRANTING Defendant’s motion to dismiss the complaint (ECF No. 15) and GRANTING Plaintiff leave to file a second amended complaint”
“Defendants’ motion to set aside the entries of default (ECF No. 188) IS GRANTED.”
“Plaintiff’s motion for default judgment (ECF No. 184) IS DENIED.”
“the motion (ECF No. 14) for reconsideration of the Court’s June 24, 2013, order is GRANTED to the extent the Court has now considered Plaintiff’s reply brief and supporting materials.”
“Plaintiff’s motion (ECF No. 28) is GRANTED IN PART and this Preliminary Injunction is ENTERED.”
“The motion for preliminary injunction is ripe (ECF Nos. 173, 174, 179, and 182) and involves no disputes of fact. It will be denied.”
“Defendants’ motion for a protective order is GRANTED and that the notice issued by Plaintiffs under Rule 30(b)(6) is QUASHED.”
“Johnson’s Motion for Compassionate Release (ECF No. 303) is DENIED.”
“the Motion to Dismiss is GRANTED, on both grounds proffered by the Defendants.”
“a separate order shall be entered granting defendant Lambert’s motion for summary judgment”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Median case duration in the sampled dockets: 459 days (N = 5).
Median motion-to-ruling time: 161 days (N = 4).
The sampled matters include habeas, prisoner civil rights, administrative review, personal-property damage, ERISA, civil racketeering, False Claims Act litigation, and newly filed matters without a coded nature of suit. Five cases were terminated and five remained pending at the time of review.
Draft for Judge Bredar with the record in hand
Ezel grounds your drafting and research in this profile: what has persuaded Judge Bredar, and what has not, cited to the signed orders.
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