Lois H. Goodman
How Judge Goodman rules, drawn from 12 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
Judge Goodman no longer sits on this court. This profile is preserved as a historical record of how they ruled here.
About Judge Goodman
Lois H. Goodman served as a United States Magistrate Judge in the Trenton Vicinage of the District of New Jersey from 2009 until her retirement in 2023. She previously clerked for New Jersey Supreme Court Justice Stewart G. Pollock and practiced at a Newark law firm. She earned degrees from Rutgers College and New York University School of Law.
How Judge Goodman decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In Quick v. Township of Bernards, Goodman denied a renewed protective order request based on deliberative process privilege. She found the township’s affidavits lacked precise reasons for withholding the deposition topics and relied instead on a bare assertion that counsel had been involved.
“The responsible agency official needs to provide 'precise and certain reasons for asserting the privilege over the government information or documents at issue.' The Bianchi and Piedici Affidavits are fatally deficient in this regard. ... In essence, the only 'precise and certain reason' provided in the affidavits for asserting the deliberative process privilege is that the Township is entitled to the protection of the attorney-client privilege. This cannot suffice”
In Atain Specialty Insurance v. Northeast Mountain Guiding, Goodman denied a late amendment because Atain had not shown diligence under Rule 16. She also held that the opponents' informal pre-motion letters did not waive their objections.
“this would not relieve Plaintiff of its independent obligation to show that it exercised diligence in seeking to make the late amendment.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“ORDERED that Insignia's Petition to compel compliance with the subpoenas duces tecum served upon Respondents Goodell and Edelstein [Docket Entry No. 1] be and it hereby is DENIED”
“ORDERED that the request for sanctions and fees against Respondents is DENIED”
“ORDERED that Plaintiffs' Second Motion to Compel [Docket Entry No. 56] is DENIED”
“Accordingly, the Court affirms the January 6, 2014 Order granting Plaintiff's Motion to Strike Certain Portions of Defendant's Expert Report.”
“Magistrate Judge Goodman's decision on Plaintiff's Motion to Strike was neither clearly erroneous nor contrary to law ... Having denied Defendant's Motion to Amend its Invalidity Contentions, Magistrate Judge Goodman reasoned that permitting Defendant to include the fifteen additional prior art references in its expert report would essentially negate the effect of her prior decision”
“ORDERED that the Report and Recommendation of Magistrate Judge Lois H. Goodman at docket entry 14 is hereby adopted as the opinion of the Court; and it is further ORDERED that Plaintiff's Complaint is dismissed with prejudice.”
“ORDERED that Plaintiff's Motion to Appoint Pro Bono Counsel [Docket Entry No. 23] is DENIED.”
“ORDERED that the Motion for a Protective Order [Docket Entry No. 52] is hereby DENIED; and it is further ORDERED that the parties shall schedule the depositions in question and shall notify the Court as to when they are to take place.”
“ORDERED that the Motion for Leave to Amend [Docket Entry No. 107] is DENIED”
“ORDERED that the Cross-Motion for Leave to Amend [Docket Entry No. 116] is also DENIED. ... Because the Court is denying Atain's Motion to Amend, the Court also denies the NMG Cross-Motion as moot.”
“ORDERED that Plaintiff's Motion to Compel [Docket Entry No. 53] is DENIED”
“ORDERED that BSHF's motion to quash the Subpoena and for a protective order [Docket Entry No. 6] is GRANTED”
“ORDERED that BSHF's motion for sanctions is DENIED.”
“ORDERED that Plaintiff's requests for pro bono counsel [Docket Entry Nos. 33 and 46] are DENIED”
“ORDERED that Plaintiff's Motion to Request Permission to Retain a Psychiatrist [Docket Entry No. 49] is DENIED”
“ORDERED that Plaintiff's Motion for a Stay [Docket Entry No. 51] is DENIED as moot”
“For the foregoing reasons, and for good cause shown, the Motion for a Protective Order [Docket Entry No. 48] is hereby DENIED WITHOUT PREJUDICE.”
“Because Judge Wolfson already granted Plaintiff leave to file an amended complaint, Plaintiff's Motion for Leave to File a First Amended Complaint is moot.”
Pending matters in the official report
Judge Goodman was last listed in the Civil Justice Reform Act report as of March 31, 2024.
| 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2023 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2023 | 0 | 0 |
| 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.
A historical record
Judge Goodman 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.