Daniel Lee Hovland
How Judge Hovland decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
Adopts well-reasoned magistrate Findings & Recommendations wholesale where unobjected, and will let a colorable discrimination claim survive summary judgment and dismissal and appoint counsel for a pro se inmate with a surviving claim.
“The Defendants' motion for summary judgment (Docket No. 31) is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part as explained in the Report and Recommendation.”
Procedural preferences
Conducts a fact-intensive, issue-by-issue merits analysis on cross summary judgment, declining summary judgment wherever the record is replete with genuine issues of material fact and granting it only where the historical establishment facts are undisputed.
“the Court ... GRANTS IN PART AND DENIES IN PART the Counties' motion for partial summary judgment (Doc. No. 237).”
Cautions
Applies North Dakota's medical-malpractice expert-affidavit statute (N.D.C.C. 28-01-46) strictly: once the three-month window to serve the affidavit closes, good cause is irrelevant and the claim is dismissed, and he will reverse his own prior order on reconsideration to enforce it.
“For the reasons outlined above, the motion for reconsideration (Doc. No. 40) is GRANTED and the Plaintiff's claims against Defendants' Kerri Benning, FNP-C ... and the Underwood Clinic, P.C. d/b/a the Washburn Clinic are DISMISSED without prejudice in accordance with Section 28-01-46.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“For the reasons outlined above, the motion for reconsideration (Doc. No. 40) is GRANTED and the Plaintiff's claims against Defendants' Kerri Benning, FNP-C ... and the Underwood Clinic, P.C. d/b/a the Washburn Clinic are DISMISSED without prejudice in accordance with Section 28-01-46.”
“the Court ... GRANTS IN PART AND DENIES IN PART the Counties' motion for partial summary judgment (Doc. No. 237).”
“the Court DENIES the United States' motion for partial summary judgment (Doc. No. 238)”
“The Defendants' motion for summary judgment (Docket No. 31) is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part as explained in the Report and Recommendation.”
“The Defendants' motion to dismiss (Docket No. 42) is DENIED.”
“The Plaintiff's motion for appointment of counsel is GRANTED.”
“Having appointed counsel for the Plaintiff, the pro se motion to amend (Docket No. 52) is DENIED without prejudice.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
The reviewed case durations range from a 28-day commercial dismissal to a 2,940-day property-boundary dispute. This is a descriptive sample rather than a representative caseload measure; one sampled insurance case remained pending.
Put Judge Hovland's record to work
Ezel drafts and answers grounded in this exact profile: how Judge Hovland actually rules, not a generic AI guess.
Opens in Ezel Pro. Every answer is grounded in Judge Hovland's own signed orders and cites them.