Cathy L. Waldor
How Judge Waldor rules, drawn from 22 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
Judge Waldor no longer sits on this court. This profile is preserved as a historical record of how they ruled here.
About Judge Waldor
Cathy L. Waldor joined the District of New Jersey as a United States Magistrate Judge in 2011 and served in its Newark Vicinage until her retirement. Before joining the bench, she was an Assistant Deputy Public Defender in Essex County and practiced as a trial attorney. She graduated from Seton Hall University School of Law.
How Judge Waldor decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In Kim v. Dongbu Tour & Travel, Waldor compelled production of plaintiffs’ tax returns after finding them relevant to wage damages and otherwise unavailable from incomplete guidebooks. She directed the parties to confer on a confidentiality order to limit disclosure.
“in the context of a request to compel production of tax returns, a two-part balancing test applies: 'first, the court determines the relevance of the tax returns to the litigation; if the returns are found to be relevant, the court then determines whether there is a compelling need for the tax returns due to the sought after information being otherwise unavailable.'”
In Wernick v. New Jersey Office of the Attorney General, Waldor recommended remand after the federal claims dropped out before trial and the remaining state-law claims had not yet consumed federal judicial resources.
“Turning to the present matter, this is a textbook non-extraordinary case where the relevant factors militate in favor of remand.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“For the reasons set forth above, the undersigned hereby DENIES Defendants' Motion.”
“For the reasons set forth above, the Court grants Defendants' motion to compel production of Plaintiffs' income tax returns.”
“the Court accepts Judge Waldor's report and recommendation (D.E. 16), and AXA's motion to transfer venue (D.E. 8) is granted.”
“ORDERED that the objections are OVERRULED and this Court ADOPTS Judge Waldor's R&R in full ... ORDERED that this case be REMANDED to the New Jersey Superior Court, Bergen County.”
“Plaintiff responds to Alina's Objection and objects to Judge Waldor's recommendation that the Court deny Plaintiff an award of attorney's fees. ... the objections are OVERRULED and this Court ADOPTS Judge Waldor's R&R in full”
“ORDERED that the Court ADOPTS Judge Waldor's R&R (D.E. No. 12) in full; and it is further ORDERED that NJM's motion to dismiss (D.E. No. 10) is GRANTED; and it is further ORDERED that Plaintiff's Complaint (D.E. No. 1) is DISMISSED for lack of subject matter jurisdiction”
“RESPECTFULLY RECOMMENDED that plaintiff Batya G. Wernick, Esq.'s motion to remand (ECF No. 4) be GRANTED”
“ORDERED that, upon reconsideration, the Government's motion to strike Defendants' jury demand is granted”
“the Court, accordingly, respectfully recommends that the District Judge deny Defendants' request for permission to file an interlocutory appeal.”
“ORDERED that Plaintiffs' motion for disqualification, (ECF No. 117), is DENIED”
“Defendants have failed to defend this matter and, accordingly, the Court respectfully recommends that the District Judge strike the answer and enter default.”
“for the reasons set forth below, the Court recommends that the motion be GRANTED.”
“For the reasons set forth below, the Court recommends that this matter be dismissed with prejudice pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b).”
“for the reasons set forth below, the Court recommends that the Motion to Remand be GRANTED.”
Pending matters in the official report
Judge Waldor was last listed in the Civil Justice Reform Act report as of September 30, 2025.
| 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2025 | 0 | 2 |
| Sep 2024 | 0 | 4 |
| Mar 2024 | 1 | 5 |
| Sep 2023 | 0 | 5 |
| Mar 2023 | 0 | 4 |
| Sep 2022 | 0 | 4 |
| Mar 2022 | 0 | 4 |
| Sep 2021 | 0 | 4 |
| Mar 2021 | 1 | 2 |
| Sep 2020 | 1 | 2 |
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 Waldor 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.