Lee G. Dunst
How Judge Dunst decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
On uncontested mortgage-foreclosure default judgments he is a rigorous gatekeeper, not a rubber stamp. He treats strict compliance with New York RPAPL 1304 pre-suit notice as a precondition and will recommend DENYING an unopposed default-judgment motion -- and bar a renewed motion until the plaintiff files proof of compliance -- when the record does not establish it. Foreclosure plaintiffs must document 1304/1306 compliance up front.
“Because 'failure to strictly comply with section 1304 is a sufficient basis to deny foreclosure relief,' the Court must deny the Motion.”
He polices repeat pleading failures. After multiple amended complaints and pre-motion letters identifying defects, he recommended dismissal WITH PREJUDICE and no further leave to amend -- the 'fourth bite at the apple' will not get a fifth. Cure identified deficiencies early; do not assume serial amendments will be tolerated.
“the TAC represents 'Plaintiffs' fourth bite at the apple . . .'”
Procedural preferences
On attorney's-fee applications he applies a careful lodestar haircut: he disallows time spent on improper or unsupported filings and reduces inflated requests rather than awarding the full ask (e.g. recommending $6,483.51 against a larger contempt-fee request; recommending $48,170.77 against a $93,764.67 wage-and-hour request). Submit well-documented, reasonable hours and rates.
“the Court should reject Plaintiff's attorneys' fee requests for the 2.3 hours spent on the improper January 21, 2020 letter motion to Judge Spatt, and the unsupported 16.2 hours Plaintiff claims to have spent”
Cautions
A sanctions motion that loses is not automatically frivolous. On a multi-theory fees/sanctions motion (inherent authority, 1927, Rule 11, Rule 37) he recommended denial with prejudice but the adopting court agreed the motion itself was not frivolous given the opponent's documented misconduct -- so denial of sanctions did not invite counter-sanctions. Sanctions practice here is cautious on both sides.
“he recommended that I deny with prejudice defendants' motions for fees, costs, and sanctions, and deny as moot the motions to strike.”
Motion outcomes
Counted from classified signed orders only. Percentages are shown only where the sample is large enough to be meaningful; smaller samples are reported as raw counts.
| Motions to dismiss N = 2 |
Granted: 1Granted in part: 1 | counts only |
| Default judgment N = 2 |
Granted: 1Denied: 1 | counts only |
| Motion for attorney fees N = 2 |
Granted in part: 2 | counts only |
| Motion for sanctions N = 1 |
Denied: 1 | counts only |
A "1 of 1" is one ruling, not a tendency. Treat small samples as illustrative, not predictive.
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“the undersigned recommends that the Court deny the Motion and order that Plaintiff must file a letter attaching proof of compliance with Section 1304 before it may file another motion seeking a default judgment and any other relief.”
“the undersigned recommends that the Court award Plaintiff $6,483.51 in attorneys' fees and costs owed by defendants Soni Holdings, Kunal Soni, Anjali Soni, and 632 MLK BLVD JR LLC in connection with the Second Contempt Order”
“the Court ADOPTS the R&R. Accordingly, Defendant's motion to dismiss is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART.”
“On February 8, 2023, Magistrate Judge Lee G. Dunst issued a Report and Recommendation ... in which he recommended that I deny with prejudice defendants' motions for fees, costs, and sanctions, and deny as moot the motions to strike. ... I adopt the Report and Recommendation. I deny defendants' motion for fees”
“the Court dismisses the federal claims in the TAC as to the Moving Defendants with prejudice. ... As the R&R aptly puts it, the TAC represents 'Plaintiffs' fourth bite at the apple ...' The Court sees no reason to provide Plaintiffs a fifth serving.”
“On October 24, 2024, Magistrate Judge Lee G. Dunst, to whom I referred the Motion for Default Judgment, issued a Report and Recommendation ... I find no clear error and adopt the thorough and well-reasoned R&R in its entirety. Accordingly, I grant Empire's Motion for Default Judgment.”
“This Court referred the Motion to Magistrate Judge Lee G. Dunst, and, on April 10, 2025, Judge Dunst issued a Report and Recommendation ... Teoh's Motion for Attorney's Fees is granted in part, with reduced rates and hours as set forth in the R&R. ... $48,170.77 in attorney's fees and $8,382.25 in costs.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Caseload-light layer (referral magistrate). For deepening, pull his consent-jurisdiction civil cases (28 U.S.C. 636(c)) where he is the case judge of record, which ARE enumerable, and his discovery rulings.