Gordon Jay Quist
How Judge Quist rules, drawn from 25 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
Judge Quist no longer sits on this court. This profile is preserved as a historical record of how they ruled here.
About Judge Quist
Gordon Jay Quist served on the United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan. Appointed by President George H.W. Bush, he received his commission on June 30, 1992. He took senior status on January 1, 2006, and inactive senior status on January 1, 2023.
How Judge Quist decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In Montgomery v. Kraft Foods Global, Inc., he granted only part of a fee petition after a $250 statutory recovery, finding the requested hours and rates disproportionate and awarding $6,417 in fees plus $350 in costs.
“Any suggestion that it would be reasonable to spend $174,786.50 (at $350 per hour), or even $79,902.40 (at $160 per hour), to recover $250 is patently absurd.”
Procedural preferences
In Velocity Tools, Inc. v. Nemic Industrial Supply Company, he construed the defendant's motion over the corporate plaintiff's failure to obtain counsel as a Rule 41(b) request and dismissed the complaint with prejudice after the plaintiff remained unrepresented despite a court order.
“Because Defendant's motion is based on Plaintiff's failure to obtain counsel as required by law and as ordered by the Court, the Court construes this motion as a Rule 41(b) motion for involuntary dismissal for Plaintiff's failure to prosecute or to comply with the Court's orders.”
Cautions
In Espinosa’s prison medical care case, Quist granted the defendants’ summary judgment motion after their uncontradicted affidavits showed they had not decided to deny the requested eye surgery.
“Plaintiff has offered no basis for denying Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment in light of Defendants' uncontradicted affidavits stating that they were not responsible for the decision to deny his request for corrective eye surgery.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiff's Motion To Enforce Settlement Agreement (docket no. 90) is GRANTED.”
“IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Plaintiff's Motion For Summary Judgment (docket no. 76) is DENIED.”
“IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the Defendant's motion to dismiss for failure to obtain counsel (docket no. 30) is GRANTED. Plaintiff's complaint is DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE.”
“IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Defendant's motion to dismiss pursuant to Rule 37 (docket no. 36) is DISMISSED AS MOOT.”
“IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Petitioner's motion for reconsideration (docket no. 12) is DENIED.”
“IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Petitioner's petition for writ of habeas corpus is DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE.”
“IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiff's Motion For Determination Of Fees (docket no. 26) is GRANTED. Plaintiff is awarded attorney fees in the amount of $1,770.00 and expenses in the amount of $160.88.”
“IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Defendants' Rule 56(b) Motion for Summary Judgment (docket no. 13) is GRANTED, and Plaintiff's complaint is dismissed.”
“IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Defendants' Motion For Summary Judgment (docket no. 81) is GRANTED.”
“IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Petitioner's petition for writ of habeas corpus (docket no. 1) is denied.”
“For the foregoing reasons, the Court will grant GFT's motion for summary judgment on the federal claims and remand this case for all further proceedings regarding the state or potential state law claims.”
“This Court declines to exercise its supplemental jurisdiction over state law claims, including pending motions.”
“For the foregoing reasons, the Court will deny Evink's motions.”
“Because Evink's motion was filed 21 months after the Court entered judgment, it is untimely. For the foregoing reasons, the Court will deny Evink's motions.”
“The Court will deny all of these motions.”
“the Court concludes that an evidentiary hearing is not warranted because the materials that the parties presented are sufficient to allow the Court to determine a reasonable fee award.”
“the Court will grant Montgomery's motion for attorney's fees and costs in part and award her $6,417 in attorney's fees and $350 in costs.”
“IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Petitioner's application for habeas corpus relief (ECF No. 37) and motion to stay the proceedings (ECF No. 43) are DENIED.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
- His sampled dockets (2015, 2019, and his final 2022 filings) show the broad general civil and criminal docket typical of a longtime Michigan district judge: a heavy share of prisoner civil-rights and state/federal habeas corpus cases (often referred to a magistrate judge for a report and recommendation), Social Security disability appeals, ERISA and consumer cases, and a criminal caseload including firearm and drug offenses.
- A 2022 cohort of habeas petitions was reassigned away from him within about a week of the initial assignment, consistent with his winding down before formally moving to inactive status on January 1, 2023.
Pending matters in the official report
Judge Quist was last listed in the Civil Justice Reform Act report as of March 31, 2023.
| 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 2023 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2022 | 7 | 5 |
| Mar 2022 | 6 | 9 |
| Sep 2021 | 6 | 9 |
| Mar 2021 | 9 | 11 |
| Sep 2020 | 10 | 11 |
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 Quist 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.