Robert Byron Kugler
How Judge Kugler rules, drawn from 6 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
Judge Kugler no longer sits on this court. This profile is preserved as a historical record of how they ruled here.
About Judge Kugler
Robert B. Kugler was a judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey. Appointed by President George W. Bush, Judge Kugler received a commission on December 4, 2002. Judge Kugler assumed senior status on November 2, 2018 and retired on May 31, 2024.
How Judge Kugler decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In McCartney v. Transamerica, Kugler allowed a bad faith insurance claim to proceed at the pleading stage but dismissed the Consumer Fraud Act claim because the allegations concerned denial of benefits rather than the sale of the policy.
“Because Plaintiff’s allegations only relate to the denial of benefits, her claim under the CFA will be dismissed.”
Procedural preferences
In City of Atlantic City v. Zemurray Street Capital, Kugler denied summary judgment after both sides submitted inadequate factual statements and record citations, declining to search the record for them.
“Since neither Defendants nor Plaintiff provide meaningful factual statements with citations to the record in the moving papers, the Court declines to comb the record on their behalf. Accordingly, Defendants’ motion for summary judgment will be denied.”
In Gooden v. Township of Monroe, Kugler denied the defendants' summary judgment request without prejudice because the plaintiff had not yet had an opportunity to obtain important evidence through discovery.
“because Plaintiff has not had an opportunity to obtain important relevant evidence through discovery channels, Defendants’ motion for summary judgment is premature and will be denied without prejudice.”
Cautions
In Garrison v. Camber Pharmaceuticals, Kugler denied a motion to strike an opposition letter because Rule 12(f) applies to pleadings, and the letter was not a pleading. He also found the plaintiff’s summary judgment request premature before discovery.
“Rule 12(f) is available only for pleadings, which are listed above, and is unavailable for a party's opposition to a motion ... that Mr. Garrison seeks to strike an opposition letter by Camber is patently improper.”
Reconsideration of an interlocutory order denying summary judgment is governed by Local Civil Rule 7.1(i)'s 14-day deadline (not Rule 59(e)'s 28-day clock, which is for final judgments); miss the 14 days and the motion is untimely. New grounds (e.g. a Rule 60 theory) raised only in a reply brief are waived.
“Because Defendants seek reconsideration of an 'interlocutory order[] denying summary judgment,' rather than reconsideration of a final judgment, the 14-day time limit in Rule 7.1(i) controls.”
In Caldwell v. Malaghaggi, Kugler dismissed the self-represented plaintiff’s professional-malpractice claims because he had not filed the affidavit required by New Jersey’s Affidavit of Merit Statute. The plaintiff’s other, nonnegligence claims remained.
“Plaintiff’s status as a pro se litigant does not excuse him from the procedural requirements of the Statute.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“For the foregoing reasons, Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment is DENIED.”
“For the reasons set forth above, Plaintiff's motion to strike is denied.”
“the Court grants Defendants' motion to dismiss. However, Plaintiff's claims that do not allege negligence remain.”
“For the reasons detailed above, Defendants' Motion for Reconsideration (Doc. 180) is DENIED.”
“For the reasons set forth below, the motions will be denied.”
“Defendants' motion for summary judgment is premature and will be denied without prejudice.”
“Defendant's motion to dismiss the second count of the Complaint is denied. Defendant's motion to dismiss the claims in the third count under the CFA is granted.”
Pending matters in the official report
Judge Kugler was last listed in the Civil Justice Reform Act report as of September 30, 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2024 | 0 | 702 |
| Sep 2023 | 0 | 542 |
| Mar 2023 | 0 | 225 |
| Sep 2022 | 0 | 113 |
| Mar 2022 | 0 | 52 |
| Sep 2021 | 0 | 26 |
| Mar 2021 | 0 | 20 |
| Sep 2020 | 0 | 17 |
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 Kugler 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.