Warren Keith Urbom
How Judge Urbom rules, drawn from 25 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
Judge Urbom no longer hears cases. This profile is preserved as a historical record of how they ruled here.
About Judge Urbom
Warren Keith Urbom was a judge of the United States District Court for the District of Nebraska. Appointed by President Richard M. Nixon, Judge Urbom received a commission on April 24, 1970. Judge Urbom assumed senior status on December 31, 1990 and served until death on July 28, 2017.
How Judge Urbom decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In Rohren v. Centennial Public School District, Urbom granted supervisor Rolenc partial summary judgment on the Title VII count to the extent it sought to hold him individually liable. He relied on Eighth Circuit precedent barring individual supervisor liability under Title VII; the other summary-judgment requests were denied.
“Therefore, to the extent that Count IV is directed toward Rolenc in his individual capacity, the defendants are entitled to summary judgment.”
Procedural preferences
In Rohren v. Centennial Public School District, Urbom declined to consider a defense affidavit that did not comply with the court’s local evidence rules. He therefore denied summary judgment on qualified immunity without reaching that defense and allowed a renewed motion with compliant evidence.
“Due to the defendants' failure to present their evidence in accordance with this court's local rules, however, I shall not consider this affidavit. ... Under the circumstances, I must deny the defendants' motion for summary judgment based on qualified immunity.”
Cautions
In Harris v. Oliver, Urbom denied the plaintiff’s summary judgment motion because the defendant’s affidavit disputed material details of their encounter. Viewing the evidence in her favor as the nonmoving party, he found a jury could credit her account.
“The evidence in the record must be taken in the light favorable to Oliver, and I cannot say that no reasonable jury could credit Oliver's version of the facts or return a verdict in her favor.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“IT IS ORDERED that the plaintiff's motion for summary judgment, filing 28, is denied.”
“IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Defendant Oliver's motion to strike exhibits submitted by the plaintiff in support of his motion for summary judgment, filing 33, is denied as moot.”
“Defendant Rolenc is granted a summary judgment on Count IV of the complaint to the extent that he is sued in his individual capacity; ... The defendants' motion for summary judgment, filing 34, is otherwise denied;”
“The plaintiff's motion for an extension of time to respond to the defendants' summary judgment motion, filing 43, is denied;”
“The ‘Federal Defendants' Motion to Dismiss, or, in the Alternative, for Summary Judgment, and Motion to Amend Caption to Substitute United States of America as the Sole Federal Defendant,’ filing 19, is granted;”
“the plaintiff's Motion to Quash Complaint, construed as a motion for voluntary dismissal, (filing no. 7) is granted and Michael Thomas' claims are dismissed without prejudice.”
“the defendants' Motions to Terminate Consent Decree and Dismiss Case (filing no. 31) are denied.”
“Plaintiff Richard Rayes' Motion for Temporary Restraining Order (filing no. 26) and Motion for Discovery (filing no. 27) are denied without prejudice to reassertion in the proper forum.”
“Plaintiff Richard Rayes' Motion for Leave to Submit Exhibits (filing no. 38) is granted to the extent that the court has accepted these documents for filing. To the extent it seeks any other relief, the motion is denied.”
“the defendant's petition for a ‘Common Law Writ of Error Audita Querela,’ filing 118, and his motion for a ‘Writ to Amend/Correct Judgment,’ filing 121, are denied.”
“the Defendant Dravo's Motion for Leave of Court to File Substituted Brief in Support of its Motion for Partial Summary Judgment on the City's Claims Related to its Water Supply System, filing 212, is granted;”
“The defendant's motion to strike, (ECF No. 36), is granted in part as explained in the memorandum accompanying this order;”
“The defendant's motion for summary judgment, ECF No. 27, is granted.”
“The plaintiff's motion to strike, filing 37, is granted;”
“The defendant's motion to strike, filing 80, is granted;”
“The plaintiff's motion for leave to supplement or amend her summary judgment response brief, filing 72, is denied as moot;”
“The defendant is entitled to summary judgment on the plaintiff's gender discrimination claim, which is set forth in Count II of the amended complaint; and ... The defendant's motion for summary judgment, filing 28, is otherwise denied.”
“IT IS ORDERED that the plaintiff's motion for a temporary restraining order, filing 3, is denied.”
“IT IS ORDERED that the defendant's motion to dismiss the complaint for lack of personal jurisdiction, filing 9, is granted. In all other respects, the defendant's motion is denied as moot.”
“the Motion and Request for Hearing Pursuant to Rule 35(b), filing 42, is denied;”
“the defendant's Motion and Request for Admission to Residential Drug Abuse Treatment Under the U.S. Bureau of Prisons, filing 43, is denied.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Median case duration in the sampled dockets: 455 days (N = 6).
- From the 21-docket sample, the cases assigned to Urbom span a broad late-career senior-judge civil docket: employment / Civil Rights: Jobs (Flug v. Cabela's, Garrett v. Bugeater), Social Security (Arriaga v. Colvin), personal injury (Resler v. Telex, Hruby v. Albertson's), contract (Brecek and Young Advisors v. Syndicate 2003/Lloyd's, Koning v. Baisden, Archer Daniels Midland v. Soucie), property/insurance (Liberty Mutual v. BNSF), products liability (Brandstetter v. Menu Foods), and FLSA labor (Harris v. Exterior Plus), plus prisoner/habeas.
- NOT a complete enumeration; a fuller pass would enumerate the full docket record across his 1970-2014 tenure.
A historical record
Judge Urbom 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.