Joan Marie Azrack
How Judge Azrack decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
Strictly construes the FTCA's jurisdictional presentment requirement and the waiver of sovereign immunity against the claimant: a vague SF-95 injury description is inadequate, and the common-law mailbox rule does not apply, so a plaintiff must prove the agency actually received supporting records before suit.
“the mailbox rule is inapplicable to claims brought under the FTCA, and that therefore the mere mailing of a notice of claim does not satisfy the FTCA's presentment requirement. The statute and corresponding regulation make clear that actual receipt is required”
Treats substantive due process as unavailable where a more specific constitutional provision governs the same conduct -- a 'backup' Fourteenth Amendment theory will not survive a motion to dismiss alongside First/Fourth Amendment claims.
“a substantive due process analysis is inappropriate where a more specific constitutional standard is directly applicable.”
On summary judgment she declines to resolve genuinely fact-specific questions on the papers and sends them to a factfinder, even while granting the motion on the legally clear claim in the same order.
“where an accommodation is made, whether that accommodation is reasonable is a fact-specific question that often must be resolved by a factfinder.”
Reads insurance-policy terms by their ordinary meaning and refuses to stretch 'bodily injury' to cover bare physical contact or confinement absent an actual physical injury, defeating a duty-to-defend theory.
“The Court does not agree that unwanted physical contact or physical confinement, without more, constitutes a ‘bodily injury.’ The Court also concludes that the term ‘bodily injury’ is not ambiguous on this point.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“Defendant's motion for summary judgment is GRANTED and this case is DISMISSED.”
“Defendants' partial motion to dismiss is therefore GRANTED in its entirety.”
“the defendant's motion to dismiss the plaintiff's amended complaint is granted and the plaintiff's amended complaint is dismissed with prejudice.”
“(2) Defendant's motion for summary judgment as to Plaintiff's ADA reasonable accommodation claim is DENIED; ... and (4) Defendant's motion for summary judgment as to Plaintiff's constructive discharge claim is GRANTED.”
“(1) Plaintiff's motion for summary judgment as to her ADA reasonable accommodation claim is DENIED; ... (3) Plaintiff's motion for summary judgment as to her constructive discharge claim is DENIED”
“Defendant's motion for summary judgment is granted and plaintiff's motion for summary judgment is denied.”
“Plaintiff's motion for summary judgment against Habeeb is granted.”
“The motion for default judgment is granted as to Sankar but denied as to Slomins Inc., with leave to renew.”
“Accordingly, I grant defendants' motion for summary judgment.”
“plaintiff's motion is GRANTED and plaintiff is awarded a default judgment against defendants in the amount of $148,336.89.”
“The Court grants defendant's motion for summary judgment.”
“The Court therefore rejects Plaintiff's objections and ADOPTS the R&R as the opinion of the Court. Accordingly, the Amended Complaint is DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE.”
“Defendants' motion for summary judgment is GRANTED. Plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment is DENIED and Plaintiffs' motion for a preliminary injunction is DENIED AS MOOT.”
“Plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment is DENIED”
“For the foregoing reasons, the Bankruptcy Court's January 6, 2025 Opinion and January 10, 2025 Order are hereby AFFIRMED.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Median case duration in the sampled dockets: 549 days (N = 6).
A senior Eastern District of New York judge in Central Islip on Long Island, still actively assigned despite taking senior status in December 2024; recent assignments confirm she continues drawing new criminal and civil cases. Her sampled docket is dominated by a substantial criminal docket and a broad civil mix: mortgage foreclosures, FLSA wage-and-hour labor cases, ADA public-accommodation access, Social Security appeals, consumer credit, Federal Tort Claims Act personal injury, and mass-tort matters. The mix is qualitative, drawn from case-level records.
Put Judge Azrack's record to work
Ezel drafts and answers grounded in this exact profile: how Judge Azrack actually rules, not a generic AI guess.
Opens in Ezel Pro. Every answer is grounded in Judge Azrack's own signed orders and cites them.