Laurie Smith Camp
How Judge Camp rules, drawn from 19 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
Judge Camp no longer hears cases. This profile is preserved as a historical record of how they ruled here.
About Judge Camp
Laurie Smith Camp was a judge of the United States District Court for the District of Nebraska. Appointed by President George W. Bush, Judge Smith Camp received a commission on October 24, 2001. Judge Smith Camp assumed senior status on December 1, 2018 and served until death on September 23, 2020.
How Judge Camp decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In Tramp v. Associated Underwriters, Smith Camp granted summary judgment on the ADEA claim after finding that the plaintiff’s own evidence attributed her termination to health insurance costs, which were analytically distinct from age in that case.
“Plaintiff’s own evidence demonstrates that age and health care costs were analytically distinct in this case.”
Procedural preferences
In Tramp v. Associated Underwriters, Smith Camp treated the defendant's properly supported summary-judgment facts as admitted because the plaintiff supplied additional facts but did not respond to the defendant's numbered statement as NECivR 56.1(b) required.
“Plaintiff also submitted a numbered statement of 'additional material facts,' but did not respond to the Defendant's statement of facts as required by NECivR 56.1(b). Accordingly, all properly referenced material facts in the Defendant's statement are considered admitted unless controverted in the Plaintiff's response.”
In Merrell v. Douglas County, Smith Camp dismissed the county contract claim without prejudice because the amended complaint did not suggest that Merrell had presented it to the county within the statutory 90-day period. She also dismissed the state tort claim against the county under the state claims statute.
“Nothing in the (Amended) Complaint suggests that Merrell submitted his contract claim to the County within 90 days of the time it arose ... Accordingly, Merrell's third claim is not plausible, and it will be dismissed, without prejudice.”
Cautions
In Longwell v. Omaha Performing Arts Society, Smith Camp granted summary judgment on the failure-to-hire theory but left the Title VII anti-male-bias theory for trial. She identified whether a decisionmaker held such a bias and whether it motivated elimination of the plaintiff's job as the remaining factual questions.
“Few issues remain for trial. They are: (1) Can Longwell prove, more likely than not, that Bunker had an anti-male bias? (2) If so, can Longwell prove, more likely than not, that such anti-male bias was a motivating factor in OPAS's decision to eliminate Longwell's job?”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“The Plaintiff Thomas J. Kawa’s Fourth Amended Complaint (Filing No. 84) is stricken;”
“the Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss the Causes of Action in the Third Amended Complaint, for failure to state claims upon which relief can be granted, is denied as moot;”
“The Defendants' Motion for Partial Dismissal (Filing No. 10) is granted in part, as follows: a. The Plaintiff's third theory of recovery is dismissed, without prejudice; and b. The Plaintiff's fourth theory of recovery is dismissed, without prejudice, as to the Defendant Douglas County, Nebraska; 2. The Motion is otherwise denied;”
“The Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment (Filing No. 46) is granted; 2. This action is dismissed with prejudice;”
“Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment (Filing No. 25) is granted; 2. The Plaintiff’s Amended Complaint (Filing No. 9) is dismissed, with prejudice;”
“Defendant Omaha Performing Arts Society’s Motion for Summary Judgment (Filing No. 41) is granted in part, as follows: Plaintiff David Longwell’s failure-to-hire claim is dismissed; and 5. The Motion for Summary Judgment is otherwise denied.”
“Plaintiff David Longwell’s Motion to Strike/Objection to Certain Evidence submitted by Defendant (Filing No. 49) is granted;”
In a post-conviction criminal order, after previously denying the defendant's 28 U.S.C. 2255 motion and declining a certificate of appealability, the court construed the pro se Notice of Appeal as a motion to reconsider the certificate denial, denied reconsideration, and denied leave to appeal in forma pauperis under Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 24. This was an appellate-procedure disposition rather than a ruling on the underlying substantive motion. Grounding quote: 'No certificate of appealability will be issued.'
“The Plaintiff’s Motion for Summary Judgment (Filing No. 16) is granted in all respects; and 2. A judgment shall be separately filed.”
“Defendant HearthStone Homes, Inc.’s Summary Judgment Motion (Filing No. 21) is granted in part and denied in part as follows: HearthStone Homes, Inc.’s motion is granted with respect to Plaintiff’s claim of Religious Employment Discrimination based on upon the amount of Mr. Ollis’s severance pay; 2.) HearthStone Homes, Inc.’s motion is denied in all other respects.”
“IT IS ORDERED: The Motion for Reconsideration of Judgment on Motion for Summary Judgment, ECF No. 76, filed by Plaintiff Thomas Majda Jr., is denied.”
“The Motion for Summary Judgment filed by Defendant W&G, Inc. (Filing No. 36) as to the award of attorney's fees is granted.”
“The Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment (Filing No. 45, Case No. 4:04cv3194) is granted;”
“Plaintiff John W. DeCamp's Motion for Summary Judgment (Filing No. 56, Case No. 4:04cv3194) is denied;”
“The Defendants' Motion to Strike the Brief and Affidavit of John DeCamp (Filing No. 53, Case No. 4:04cv3194) is granted;”
“In light of this, the Motion to Change Venue and for Recusal is denied.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Median case duration in the sampled dockets: 1185 days (N = 2).
Median motion-to-ruling time: 109 days (N = 3).
The 21 sampled terminated cases are weighted toward employment and civil-rights claims, with additional employee-benefit, labor, contract, personal-injury, trademark, securities, and other statutory disputes. The sample is not a complete account of Smith Camp's 2001–2020 caseload.
Pending matters in the official report
Judge Camp was last listed in the Civil Justice Reform Act report as of March 31, 2021.
| 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 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 Camp no longer hears cases. 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.