Leda Dunn Wettre

How Judge Wettre rules, drawn from 26 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.

Court
U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey
Position
Magistrate judge
Commissioned
April 2, 2015
Education
Temple University Beasley School of Law (J.D., 1992)
Signed orders read
26

About Judge Wettre

Leda Dunn Wettre has served as a United States Magistrate Judge in the Newark Vicinage of the District of New Jersey since 2015. She earned her law degree from Temple University's Beasley School of Law in 1992.

Judge Wettre's practices and standing orders

Rules for cases before Judge Wettre, 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

Mail two courtesy copies for motions referred to Judge Wettre, or one copy for other submissions exceeding 50 pages.

“Courtesy copies: Two copies of motion papers on motions referred to this Court; one copy of any other submission exceeding 50 pages.”

Motions

Obtain leave before filing most formal motions before Judge Wettre; Rule 12 answer substitutes and time-limited remand motions are excepted.

“Formal motions, other than motions filed in lieu of an Answer under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12 and motions seeking remand that must be filed within thirty days of removal under 28 U.S.C. § 1447(c): Shall not be filed without prior leave from this Court.”

Motions

Include a redlined proposed pleading with any request for leave to file a motion to amend.

“Any request for leave of the Court to file a motion to amend must contain a redlined version of the proposed amended pleading as an exhibit.”

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).

Key rules from these orders · The court's local rules ↗

How Judge Wettre decides

Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.

What persuades

In Castro v. Linden Bulk Transportation, Wettre recommended remand under CAFA's home-state exception. She considered the defendants remaining when the remand motion was decided and rejected reliance on an out-of-state defendant omitted from the amended complaint.

“the Court rejects defendants’ argument that out-of-state defendant Odyssey Logistics is a ‘primary defendant’ whose inclusion in a now-replaced version of the Complaint precludes satisfaction of the home state exception’s requirements. ... the Court recommends that plaintiff’s Motion to Remand be GRANTED.”

In Edrington-Latham v. Unified Vailsburg Services Organization, Wettre recommended remanding the remaining state-law wage claims after the plaintiffs dropped their sole federal claim. She found that dropping the FLSA claim to seek remand was not, by itself, a reason to retain supplemental jurisdiction.

“even assuming ... that plaintiffs abandoned the FLSA claims after removal for the purpose of seeking remand to the state court, that is not a sufficient basis per se for the Court to continue to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over the action.”

Signed rulings

A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.

Castro v. Linden Bulk Transportation LLC
2:19-cv-20442-SDW-LDW · 2020-04-20
Motions to remand (plaintiff) Granted

“the Court recommends that plaintiff’s Motion to Remand be GRANTED. ... It is recommended that the District Court find the mandatory home state exception satisfied here.”

Edrington-Latham v. Unified Vailsburg Services Organization
2:22-cv-01465-SDW-LDW · 2022-07-14
Motions to remand (plaintiff) Granted

“it is respectfully recommended that plaintiffs’ motion to remand be GRANTED and defendants’ cross-motion for attorney’s fees be DENIED.”

Motion for attorney fees (defendant) Denied

“Defendants’ cross-motion is devoid of legal authority ... for the notion that 28 U.S.C. § 1447(c) authorizes an award of fees to the party opposing remand of a properly removed case. ... the undersigned respectfully recommends that District Court deny defendants’ cross-motion.”

Tripoint Communications Ltd. v. Charge Anywhere, LLC
2:25-cv-00345-CCC-LDW · 2025-06-16

In a contract and tortious-interference suit removed on diversity grounds, Wettre issued a sua sponte order to show cause on subject-matter jurisdiction, and no party responded. She recommended remand under 28 U.S.C. 1447(c) because a Bahamian plaintiff and Bahamian co-defendant destroyed diversity under Field v. Volkswagenwerk even with a domestic co-defendant under Charge Anywhere, and the state-law claims presented no federal question. A pending Rule 12 motion to dismiss was not reached. This was a recommendation rather than a final order, and Cecchi's adoption was not verified. Recommended disposition: 'the removing party not having met its burden to demonstrate that the case is properly before the Court, the undersigned respectfully recommends that this action be remanded to the Superior Court of New Jersey, Middlesex County.'

Naik v. Boston Consulting Group
2:14-cv-03097-SDW-LDW · 2017-01-12
Motions to dismiss (defendant) Granted

“this Court respectfully recommends that plaintiff’s Complaint be stricken and the matter be DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 41(b), 37(b)(2)(A), and 16(f)(1).”

O’Keefe v. Friedman & Friedman, Ltd.
2:16-cv-04866-SDW-LDW · 2018-09-05
Motions to dismiss (defendant) Granted

“Magistrate Judge Leda Dunn Wettre’s ... Report and Recommendation ... recommends that Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction be granted. No objections to the R&R were filed. ... ORDERED that the R&R of Judge Wettre (ECF No. 48) is ADOPTED as the conclusions of law of this Court.”

Acosta v. Highway Entertainment (AJ’s GoGo)
2:18-cv-17725-MCA-ESK · 2020-04-20

Judge Madeline Cox Arleo's April 20, 2020 order adopted Wettre's sua sponte recommendation as modified. Fifty-eight models sued about 21 New Jersey strip clubs for image misappropriation. Wettre found the plaintiffs misjoined under Rule 20 because their claims did not arise from the same transaction or occurrence, and recommended dismissing without prejudice all claims except the first plaintiff's so they could be refiled separately. Arleo modified the recommendation only to allow Acosta's claims to proceed against two clubs rather than one. The severance recommendation arose from the court's own review, not a party motion. Arleo separately denied a defendant's motion to dismiss as moot.

Adams v. DMG Park, LLC
2:21-cv-17442-MCA-LDW · 2026-01-29
Sanctions (defendant) Granted

“the Court determines sanctions are justified. The Court therefore stays this action as a discovery sanction under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 37 until Adams complies with the Court’s Order concerning his deposition.”

Malhan v. State of New Jersey
2:22-cv-06353-SDW-LDW · 2023-08-24
Motion to amend (plaintiff) Denied

“For the reasons set forth above, plaintiffs’ Motion to Amend DENIED. The Clerk of Court is requested to terminate the Motion to Amend at ECF No. 37.”

Kuku v. Olushola
2:20-cv-04370-SDW-LDW · 2021-01-25
Motion to amend (plaintiff) Denied

“the Court recommends that plaintiff’s motion to reopen this matter and file an amended complaint (ECF No. 19) be DENIED.”

Burga v. UniFirst Corp.
2:20-cv-10849-MCA-LDW · 2020-12-03
Motions to remand (plaintiff) Granted

“It is therefore respectfully recommended that this action be remanded for lack of subject matter jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1447(c).”

Motion for attorney fees (plaintiff) Denied

“the Court declines to exercise its broad discretion to award plaintiff whatever costs she may have incurred in connection with his motion to remand. Therefore, the Court recommends that plaintiff’s application for costs be denied.”

Smith v. Silgan Containers Manufacturing Corp.
2:15-cv-07871-MCA-LDW · 2016-05-03
Motions to remand (plaintiff) Granted

“For the reasons set forth above, this Court respectfully recommends that plaintiff's motion to remand this action to the Superior Court of New Jersey be GRANTED.”

Ontel Products Corp. v. Yeti Coolers, LLC
2:16-cv-05712-SDW-LDW · 2017-06-30
Motions to dismiss (defendant) Granted

“For the above reasons, this Court recommends that Yeti's motion to dismiss be GRANTED.”

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 months0
Bench trials submitted more than six months0
Bankruptcy appeals pending more than six months0
Social Security appeals pending more than six months0
Civil cases pending more than three years0
ReportMotions over six monthsCases over three years
Mar 202600
Sep 202500
Mar 202500
Sep 202400
Mar 202400
Sep 202300
Mar 202301
Sep 202201
Mar 202200
Sep 202100
Mar 202100
Sep 202000

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 Wettre: 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.

CasesMedian time
All civil cases closed8,9708.1 months
Closed with no court action3704.6 months
Closed before pretrial6,2665.3 months
Closed during or after pretrial2,31714.4 months
Closed during trial1736.6 months
12 months endingCases closedMedian time
Sep 20258,9708.1 months
Sep 20247,9218.1 months
Sep 20238,37810.3 months
Sep 20227,0537.9 months
Sep 20219,0649.2 months
Sep 20209,0319.9 months
Sep 201910,5909 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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Ezel grounds your drafting and research in this profile: what has persuaded Judge Wettre, and what has not, cited to the signed orders.

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