James C. Mahan
How Judge Mahan rules, drawn from 24 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Mahan
James C. Mahan is a judge of the United States District Court for the District of Nevada. Appointed by President George W. Bush, Judge Mahan received a commission on January 30, 2002. Judge Mahan assumed senior status on June 29, 2018.
How Judge Mahan decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In federal tax-collection litigation, treats an IRS Form 4340 as presumptive proof of a valid assessment and requires the taxpayer to produce evidence showing that the assessment is erroneous.
“A Form 4340 is presumptive proof that the taxes were properly assessed, and the subject taxpayers are liable.”
Procedural preferences
Enforces the local page limit against attempts to split summary-judgment arguments across multiple motions, while still addressing a threshold limitations argument before reaching the merits.
“This court mandates that motions for summary judgment and responses to motions for summary judgment are limited to 30 pages, and parties must not circumvent this rule by filing multiple motions.”
Cautions
Where trust terms are unambiguous, arguments inconsistent with the document's plain language do not create a triable dispute over the trustee's obligation to fund estate-tax liabilities.
“Here, the court is bound by the unambiguous terms in Jean Lipson’s trust.”
In a securities enforcement case, left contested questions about transaction reporting and the defendants’ state of mind for trial after both sides sought summary judgment.
“Accordingly, there is a dispute of material fact as to both whether the 2018 Form 10-Q was accurate and whether defendants acted with the requisite scienter.”
In SEC v. Susoeff, Mahan denied a request to exclude the commission’s expert after finding the defendants’ assertion of bias unsupported by more than conclusory arguments.
“Defendants have failed to provide this court with anything other than conclusory arguments that Dr. Orlov’s opinions are biased.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“ORDER Granting 37 Motion to Dismiss and Denying as moot 10, 40 Motions to Dismiss, 41 Motion for Partial Summary Judgment, 43 Motion to Intervene. The clerk is instructed to close the case. Signed by Judge James C. Mahan on 9/18/2020.”
“Denying as moot 10, 40 Motions to Dismiss, 41 Motion for Partial Summary Judgment, 43 Motion to Intervene.”
“ORDER Denying Defendant's 30 Motion for Summary Judgment. Signed by Judge James C. Mahan on 4/6/2017.”
“IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that defendant the State of Nevada ex rel. Eighth Judicial District Court's motion for summary judgement (doc. #41) be, and the same hereby is, GRANTED.”
“IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, ADJUDGED, and DECREED that defendant NBC Nevada Merchants Inc.'s motion to dismiss, (ECF No. 9) be, and the same hereby is, GRANTED. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the plaintiff's complaint (ECF No. 1) be, and the same hereby is, DISMISSED without prejudice.”
“In sum, the court grants the City’s motions for summary judgment on plaintiffs’ claims with respect to substantive due process, void for vagueness, procedural due process, equal protection, the Sherman Act, bill of attainder, and the issue of inverse condemnation. Moreover, the court denies both the City’s and plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment as they relate to the First Amendment claim.”
“Moreover, the court denies both the City’s and plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment as they relate to the First Amendment claim.”
“IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, ADJUDGED, and DECREED that BANA's motion for summary judgment (EOF No. 50) be, and the same hereby is, DENIED. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that BANA's claims of breach of NRS 116.1113, wrongful foreclosure, and injunctive relief (EOF No. 1) be, and the same hereby are, DISMISSED. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that title in the property be, and the same hereby is, quieted in favor of Saticoy.”
“IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, ADJUDGED, and DECREED that plaintiff's motion for summary judgment (ECF No. 59) be, and the same hereby is, GRANTED, consistent with the foregoing.”
“IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Lahrs' motion to dismiss (ECF No. 52) be, and the same hereby is, DENIED.”
“IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, ADJUDGED, and DECREED that Williston's motion for summary judgment (ECF No. 31) be, and the same hereby is, GRANTED, consistent with the foregoing. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the HOA's motion for summary judgment (ECF No. 32) be, and the same hereby is, GRANTED, consistent with the foregoing.”
“IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that BOA's motion for summary judgment (ECF No. 30) be, and the same hereby is, DENIED.”
“IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, ADJUDGED, and DECREED that defendant's motion to dismiss (ECF No. 7) be, and the same hereby is, GRANTED.”
“IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that defendant's motion to stay (ECF No. 8) be, and the same hereby is, DENIED as moot.”
“IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, ADJUDGED, and DECREED that plaintiff's motion for summary judgment (ECF No. 41) be, and the same hereby is, DENIED.”
“IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that SFR's motion for summary judgment (ECF No. 40) be, and the same hereby is, GRANTED.”
“IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, ADJUDGED, and DECREED that Riggs's motion to remand (ECF No. 15 ) be, and the same hereby is, GRANTED. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Papillon defendants' motion to remand (ECF No. 19 ) be, and the same hereby is, GRANTED.”
“IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that defendant Dwight Ramon Pollard's objection to entry of an order of forfeiture and, in the alternative, request for a hearing on the question of the amount of the proceeds (doc. #473) be, and the same hereby is, DENIED.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Despite taking senior status in 2018, Mahan continues to carry an active docket. The reviewed 2026 filings skew toward commercial, business, and intellectual-property disputes rather than the immigration-detention matters prevalent on some newer judges' calendars.
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 | 2 |
| 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 | 11 |
| Report | Motions over six months | Cases over three years |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | 2 | 11 |
| Sep 2025 | 4 | 17 |
| Mar 2025 | 6 | 30 |
| Sep 2024 | 3 | 30 |
| Mar 2024 | 15 | 23 |
| Sep 2023 | 10 | 23 |
| Mar 2023 | 15 | 23 |
| Sep 2022 | 25 | 27 |
| Mar 2022 | 17 | 28 |
| Sep 2021 | 20 | 32 |
| Mar 2021 | 6 | 41 |
| Sep 2020 | 7 | 32 |
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 United States District Court for the District of Nevada, not for Judge Mahan: 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 | 2,100 | 8 months |
| Closed with no court action | 290 | 5.4 months |
| Closed before pretrial | 1,769 | 8.4 months |
| Closed during or after pretrial | 28 | 8 months |
| Closed during trial | 13 | 62 months |
| 12 months ending | Cases closed | Median time |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 2,100 | 8 months |
| Sep 2024 | 2,177 | 8.5 months |
| Sep 2023 | 2,000 | 8.4 months |
| Sep 2022 | 2,030 | 8.8 months |
| Sep 2021 | 2,291 | 8.6 months |
| Sep 2020 | 2,392 | 10.4 months |
| Sep 2019 | 2,679 | 11.5 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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