James B. Clark III
How Judge Clark rules, drawn from 21 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Clark
James B. Clark III has served as a United States Magistrate Judge in the Newark Vicinage of the District of New Jersey since 2013. Before joining the bench, he was a partner at Peter Paul & Clark. He earned degrees from the University of Notre Dame and St. John's University School of Law.
Judge Clark's practices and standing orders
Rules for cases before Judge Clark, as published on the court's website (checked October 8, 2026). Judges revise these often, so confirm the current version on the court's site before you file.
Key rules
Filing
Send confidential settlement memoranda and protected discovery disputes by fax or email; file other papers electronically.
“Confidential settlement memoranda, joint discovery plans, discovery disputes with information subject to discovery confidentiality orders, and informal adjournment requests shall sent via fax or email”
Motions
Attach a redlined proposed amended complaint to a motion to amend.
“Must be accompanied by a red-lined proposed amended complaint as an exhibit outlining the proposed amendments.”
Discovery
Obtain leave before filing a discovery motion.
“No discovery motion shall be filed without leave of the Court.”
Discovery
If counsel cannot resolve a discovery dispute, submit a dispute letter of no more than five pages describing the effort to resolve it.
“Should counsel fail in this effort, the party raising the dispute should submit a brief letter (no more than 5 pages) advising the Court of the dispute and what actions have been taken to resolve the issues.”
Standing orders for every case in this court
Orders the court applies to all of its cases, whichever judge has them, as published on the court's website (checked October 9, 2026).
- Second Amended Standing Order 2026-02: In Re Increase in Immigration-Related Habeas Corpus Petitions seeking Emergent Relief ↗
- Standing Order 2025-05: IN RE Procedures for Access to and Service of Sealed Documents ↗
- Standing Order 2025-04: IN RE "Schedule A" Cases ↗
- Standing Order 2024-03: In re: Amendment to Procedures for Requesting, Filing, and Management of Highly Sensitive Documents and Guidance for Same ↗
- Standing Order 2024-02: Electronic Signatures ↗
How Judge Clark decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In 31-01 Broadway Associates v. Travelers, Clark recommended allowing plaintiffs to add a nondiverse defendant and remanding the insurance dispute after applying the equitable joinder factors. The district judge adopted the result.
“Accordingly, Plaintiffs' motion to amend is GRANTED and this matter shall be REMANDED to the New Jersey Superior Court, Bergen County.”
In MaxLite v. ATG Electronics, Clark recommended denying an injunction that would require payment of former employees' legal fees because they had not shown irreparable harm, despite a reasonable probability of success on the merits. The district judge adopted that recommendation.
“Judge Clark determined that while the Employee Defendants could show a reasonable probability of success on the merits, the Employee Defendants could not make the requisite showing of irreparable harm.”
Procedural preferences
In Lee v. New York Mutual Trading, Clark approved an FLSA collective settlement after a fairness hearing and compared the requested attorney fees with counsel's billing records and lodestar calculation before awarding them.
“having conducted a cross-check with counsel’s lodestar calculation”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“the Court adopts the R&R in part and modifies the R&R in part. The modifications do not alter Judge Clark's overall recommendations. Accordingly, Plaintiffs' motion to amend is GRANTED and this matter shall be REMANDED to the New Jersey Superior Court, Bergen County.”
“recommending that Plaintiff Joseph Leniart's ... motion to remand the pending action to the Superior Court of New Jersey, Law Division, Union County (D.E. 3) be granted. ... ORDERED that the R&R of Judge Clark (D.E. 6) is ADOPTED as the conclusions of law of this Court.”
“ORDERED that the Employee Defendants' application for leave to file their Crossclaim is GRANTED”
“the Employee Defendants could not make the requisite showing of irreparable harm. ... ORDERED that the Employee Defendants' request for an entry of a preliminary injunction is DENIED.”
“ORDERED that the R&R (ECF No. 101) is hereby adopted in full; and it is further ORDERED that this action is dismissed without prejudice; and it is further ORDERED that, given Plaintiff is proceeding pro se, Plaintiff may file an amended complaint”
“ORDERED that Judge Clark's unopposed R&R (D.E. No. 11) is ADOPTED in full; and it is further ORDERED that all of Plaintiff's claims in this matter are DISMISSED with prejudice”
“ORDERED that Magistrate Judge Clark's June 9, 2022 R&R (ECF No. 55), is adopted as the conclusions of law of this Court and that Defendant Anthony Brullo's Motion to dismiss Plaintiff's Amended Complaint (ECF No. 41) is GRANTED and Plaintiff's claims are dismissed WITH PREJUDICE.”
“ORDER ADOPTING REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS denying [Motion to Dismiss/Lack of Jurisdiction] filed by GLYCOBIOSCIENCES INC., [Report and Recommendations]. Signed by Judge Susan D. Wigenton on 9/14/17.”
“This Court adopts Judge Clark's Report and Recommendation that Plaintiffs' motion be denied.”
“the Court recommends that Khubani's Motion to Dismiss be granted and the Motion to Strike be denied. ... ORDER ADOPTING REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS for [74] Report and Recommendations. Signed by Judge Faith S. Hochberg on 7/1/14.”
“The Court thus recommends a balance between the two. The material is pertinent to the case and should not be stricken. ... RECOMMENDED that Khubani's Motion to Strike the Complaint under R. 12(f) be DENIED.”
“ORDERED that this Court adopts Judge Clark's January 22, 2024 Report and Recommendation (ECF No. 117); and it is further ORDERED Plaintiff's Second Amended Complaint (ECF No. 60) is hereby dismissed with prejudice.”
“ORDER ADOPTING REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS granting [32] Report and Recommendations enforcing settlement and for a judgment against defendant. Ordered that Plaintiff recover a Judgment against Defendant in the amount of $131,207.07 less credits for payments received of $46,207.07, in the sum of $85,000, plus statutory interest.”
“ORDERED that Defendants' motion for leave to file a Second Amended Answer and Counterclaim [Dkt. No. 143] is DENIED”
“ORDERED that Defendants' application to compel the production of documents related to the financial condition of the LLC which post-date the filing of the Complaint [Dkt. No. 178] is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part; and it is further ORDERED that within fourteen (14) days from the date of this Order, Plaintiff shall provide Defendants with documents showing any and all rent paid to the LLC by the Coffee Business subsequent to the filing of the Complaint.”
Pending matters in the official report
Reported by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts under the Civil Justice Reform Act, as of March 31, 2026.
| 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 | 2 |
| Report | Motions over six months | Cases over three years |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | 0 | 2 |
| Sep 2025 | 0 | 2 |
| Mar 2025 | 0 | 3 |
| Sep 2024 | 0 | 2 |
| Mar 2024 | 0 | 1 |
| Sep 2023 | 0 | 1 |
| Mar 2023 | 0 | 1 |
| Sep 2022 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2022 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2021 | 0 | 0 |
| 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.
How long civil cases take in this court
For the whole of U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, not for Judge Clark: median time from filing to disposition of the civil cases the court closed in the 12 months ending September 30, 2025, as reported by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.
| Cases | Median time | |
|---|---|---|
| All civil cases closed | 8,970 | 8.1 months |
| Closed with no court action | 370 | 4.6 months |
| Closed before pretrial | 6,266 | 5.3 months |
| Closed during or after pretrial | 2,317 | 14.4 months |
| Closed during trial | 17 | 36.6 months |
| 12 months ending | Cases closed | Median time |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 8,970 | 8.1 months |
| Sep 2024 | 7,921 | 8.1 months |
| Sep 2023 | 8,378 | 10.3 months |
| Sep 2022 | 7,053 | 7.9 months |
| Sep 2021 | 9,064 | 9.2 months |
| Sep 2020 | 9,031 | 9.9 months |
| Sep 2019 | 10,590 | 9 months |
The table leaves out prisoner petitions, land condemnations, deportation reviews, recovery of overpayments and enforcement of judgments, and reports no median for fewer than 10 cases. A district that closed a large multidistrict litigation in the period shows very large counts and long medians for that year. Source: Table C-5, U.S. District Courts (spreadsheet).
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