José R. Almonte
How Judge Almonte rules, drawn from 16 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Almonte
José R. Almonte was appointed a United States magistrate judge for the District of New Jersey on February 15, 2022. Before joining the bench, he served as Chief Counsel for the Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey.
Judge Almonte's practices and standing orders
Rules for cases before Judge Almonte, as published on the court's website (checked October 9, 2026). Judges revise these often, so confirm the current version on the court's site before you file.
- Judge José R. Almonte Judicial Preferences ↗
- Judge José R. Almonte’s Standing Order for Initial Scheduling Conferences ↗
Key rules
Discovery
Get leave before filing a discovery motion.
“No discovery motion shall be filed without leave of the Court.”
Discovery
For a discovery dispute, meet in person, by video, or by phone; an email exchange does not satisfy the conference requirement.
“The Court requires the parties to meet in person, via video conferencing, or by telephone.”
Conferences
Meet and confer at least 14 days before the initial scheduling conference and submit a joint discovery plan at least five business days before it.
“At least fourteen (14) days prior to the Initial Scheduling Conference, counsel shall personally meet and confer pursuant to Rule 26(f) and shall jointly submit a discovery plan to this Court not later than five (5) business days prior to the conference with the Court.”
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 Almonte decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In a maritime dispute over work at the Queens Midtown Tunnel, Almonte enforced a subcontract's forum-selection clause and transferred the case to New York after finding that its use of “shall” made the chosen forum mandatory.
“The word ‘shall’ gives this forum-selection clause mandatory effect and confers sole jurisdiction to New York”
For lost electronic evidence, proof of loss and a preservation duty may establish spoliation, but severe sanctions depend on intent and prejudice.
“Perhaps it acted negligently, but not necessarily with the intent to deprive Two Canoes of its claims.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“For the reasons set forth above, Plaintiff’s Motion is GRANTED with modification to the relief sought.”
“ORDERED that the Koppel Defendants’ motion to quash, or alternatively, for a protective order (ECF No. 134) is DENIED;”
“Plaintiffs’ Motion (ECF No. 19) is deemed WITHDRAWN.”
“I recommend that Judge Wigenton GRANT Plaintiff’s request in part and DENY it in part.”
“I respectfully recommend that Plaintiff’s motion to enforce the settlement agreement be GRANTED”
“GRANTED with respect to corporate Defendant MI PTS8 and DENIED with respect to individual Defendant Iyer.”
“Zydus’s Motion is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART.”
“I hereby GRANT Defendants’ Motion (ECF No. 237) and strike Plaintiffs’ jury demand.”
“GRANT Plaintiff’s Motion (ECF No. 6) and remand the matter to State Court.”
“For the foregoing reasons, Able South Korea’s Motion (ECF No. 82) is GRANTED.”
After a court-initiated show-cause process, Almonte fined counsel $3,000, struck a reply containing fabricated authorities, required self-reporting, and ordered notice to the client. The order states: “ORDERED that Plaintiff’s counsel, Mr. Cho, is sanctioned with a fine of $3,000.00 under Rule 11(c).”
“For the reasons set forth above, ICSP’s motion to compel is DENIED.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Five direct-assignment civil matters were identified in the 2022-2024 filing window. They included wage-and-hour, insurance, premises-liability, and product-liability disputes; four terminated, often after settlement or stipulated dismissal, while Montero remained pending.
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 | 1 |
| Report | Motions over six months | Cases over three years |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | 0 | 1 |
| Sep 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2023 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2023 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2022 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2022 | 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 Almonte: 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).
Draft for Judge Almonte with the record in hand
Ezel grounds your drafting and research in this profile: what has persuaded Judge Almonte, and what has not, cited to the signed orders.
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