John H. Rich III
How Judge Rich rules, drawn from 14 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
Judge Rich no longer sits on this court. This profile is preserved as a historical record of how they ruled here.
About Judge Rich
John H. Rich III served as a United States Magistrate Judge for the District of Maine from April 2008 to April 2022. He graduated from Bowdoin College and the University of Pennsylvania Law School and clerked for District Judge Edward Thaxter Gignoux. Before joining the bench, he practiced law in Portland for 25 years.
How Judge Rich decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In a suit against Bank of America, Rich recommended dismissal on res judicata grounds and did not reach the bank’s alternative arguments.
“The clear applicability of res judicata to the plaintiff's complaint in this action makes it unnecessary to consider the defendant's alternative arguments.”
In Angela Adams Licensing v. Wal-Mart, Rich recommended denying dismissal of a copyright claim because a reasonable jury could find the two designs substantially similar.
“Applying this approach to the case at hand, I cannot conclude that no reasonable jury could find that the Manfred and Ellington designs are substantially similar.”
Procedural preferences
In Frost v. Walmart, Rich cited Local Rule 56's requirement that supported statements of fact be properly controverted in summary-judgment briefing.
“Local Rule 56 directs that facts contained in a supporting or opposing statement of material facts, if supported by record citations as required by this rule, shall be deemed admitted unless properly controverted.”
In Howard v. IDEXX Distribution, Rich recommended allowing an amendment filed before a scheduling order, applying the liberal Rule 15 standard.
“The plaintiffs filed the Motion to Amend on June 30, 2020, prior to the issuance of any scheduling order. Therefore, the liberal default rule applies.”
Cautions
In Ayotte v. Barnhart, he denied relief from an earlier partial summary judgment because the plaintiff's purportedly new letter was one he had written himself and could have presented before the ruling.
“The Letter is hardly new to the plaintiff: he admits that he wrote it. ... He cannot now employ a motion for reconsideration as the vehicle to place before the court evidence that could and should have been presented prior to the court's order on summary judgment.”
In Brown’s Social Security appeal, Rich affirmed the commissioner’s decision after rejecting the claimant’s asserted errors, including his challenge to the administrative law judge’s treatment of medical evidence.
“Finding no reversible error, I affirm the commissioner's decision.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“I accordingly recommend that that motion (Docket No. 15) be denied.”
“For the foregoing reasons, I recommend that the proposed findings of fact herein be adopted and that the motion to suppress be DENIED.”
“For the foregoing reasons, I recommend that the Court summarily DENY this 28 U.S.C. Section 2254 Petition pursuant to Rule Governing Section 2254 Proceedings 4.”
“For the foregoing reasons, I recommend that the proposed findings of fact be adopted and the motion to suppress DENIED.”
“For the foregoing reasons, the Motion To Amend is DENIED.”
“For the foregoing reasons, the motion for reconsideration is DENIED.”
“For the foregoing reasons, I recommend that defendant Homestead's motion to dismiss Count I (Docket No. 24) be DENIED.”
“For the foregoing reasons, I recommend that the motions to dismiss of the Walmart defendants (Docket No. 19) and Mohawk (Docket No. 24) be DENIED.”
“For the foregoing reasons, I recommend that the motion of defendants the United States of America, the Bureau of Prisons, the Northeast Regional Office of the Bureau of Prisons, the Metropolitan Detention Center, and the United States Marshals Service, to dismiss all claims asserted against them in this action be GRANTED.”
“For the foregoing reasons, the Motion is DENIED.”
“For the foregoing reasons, the plaintiff's request for in forma pauperis status is GRANTED, and I recommend that the court DISMISS this action with prejudice and DENY the motion for an injunction as moot.”
“For the foregoing reasons, I recommend that the defendant's motion for summary judgment be GRANTED as to all claims asserted in the plaintiff's complaint.”
“For the foregoing reasons, I recommend that the court GRANT the motion to dismiss.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
- Across the sampled windows, his civil docket was dominated by Social Security disability appeals consented to his own jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C.
- Section 636(c), by far his largest identifiable non-referral caseload, alongside a smaller mix of other consent-civil matters (admiralty/maritime contract, ERISA, insurance coverage), prisoner Section 1983 suits, and (in his earlier years) a substantial criminal-referral docket of suppression and detention motions.
- His final two years (2020-2022) show mostly short warrant/subpoena and other miscellaneous criminal-referral matters rather than new consent-civil filings.
Pending matters in the official report
Judge Rich was last listed in the Civil Justice Reform Act report as of March 31, 2022.
| 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 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 Rich 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.