Pamela K. Chen
How Judge Chen rules, drawn from 29 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Chen
Pamela Ki Mai Chen is a judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. Appointed by President Barack Obama, Judge Chen received a commission on March 5, 2013.
Judge Chen's practices and standing orders
Rules for cases before Judge Chen, as published on the court's website (checked October 8, 2026). Judges revise these often, so confirm the current version on the court's site before you file.
Key rules
Filing
Deliver chambers one courtesy hard copy of ECF submissions of at least 50 pages.
“Parties shall deliver to chambers one (1) courtesy hard copy of all written submissions filed on ECF that are fifty (50) pages in length or more, including any exhibits or attachments.”
Motions
Request a pre-motion conference by a filed and served letter motion of no more than three pages.
“To request a pre-motion conference, the moving party shall file and serve a letter motion not to exceed three (3) pages in length setting forth the basis for the anticipated motion.”
Standing orders for every case in this court
Orders the court applies to all of its cases, whichever judge has them, as published on the court's website (checked October 10, 2026).
How Judge Chen decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In Gonzalez v. The Cheesecake Factory Restaurants, Inc., she denied a motion to compel arbitration without prejudice because the employer had not supplied a certified English translation of the agreement.
“As Defendant has failed to adduce such a certified translation, the purported agreement to arbitrate cannot be admitted in connection with Defendant's motion to compel arbitration. The Court, therefore, denies the motion without prejudice to renew.”
In a 2026 immigration habeas case, she ordered release where officers executed an I-200 arrest warrant before issuing the notice to appear required for that warrant. The later issuance of the notice did not cure the arrest.
“Petitioner was unlawfully arrested pursuant to an I-200 warrant that was invalid as the NTA was not yet issued at the time of Petitioner’s arrest. He is accordingly entitled to release.”
In one False Claims Act suit over federal small-business loans, the relator survived Rule 9(b) by identifying the allegedly false statements, their speakers, and facts supporting falsity. The court allowed the submission dates and signers to be pleaded on information and belief because those details were within the defendants’ knowledge.
“The Court finds that Relator has satisfied Rule 9(b)’s pleading requirements.”
In Shirokikh’s immigration detention case, Chen ordered release after the government offered no facts distinguishing its claimed detention authority from contrary decisions and did not contest the petitioner’s facts.
“Respondents do not provide any facts to support their position with respect to detention under Section 1225(b)(2)(A); nor do they contest the facts Petitioner has alleged.”
Procedural preferences
In Luke v. Sunwing Travel Group, she granted a personal jurisdiction dismissal motion but ordered limited jurisdictional discovery because the self represented plaintiff had alleged potentially relevant New York contacts.
“finding that pro se Plaintiff has alleged sufficient facts regarding Defendant's contacts with New York State to warrant jurisdictional discovery, the Court sua sponte directs that the parties engage in jurisdictional discovery over the next sixty (60) days from the date of this Order.”
In Leier v. Lincoln Limousine Brokerage, she denied a late request to withdraw Rule 36 admissions because reopening them would require additional discovery and delay that prejudiced the opposing party.
“That additional discovery and delay would itself be unduly prejudicial, at this late stage in the litigation.”
In a separate habeas case, she ordered release after immigration authorities re-detained a person who had been released on recognizance without first providing notice or an opportunity to be heard. The order required a pre-deprivation bond hearing before another detention.
“Because Petitioner was not afforded process prior to his re-detention, the appropriate remedy is release.”
Cautions
In Vernon v. National Conference of Bar Examiners, she denied reconsideration after finding no overlooked controlling law or facts that would justify changing the earlier dismissal.
“The standard for granting a reconsideration motion is 'strict,' and reconsideration generally will be denied unless the moving party can point to controlling decisions or data that the court overlooked.”
In Spira v. Aeroflot-Russian Airlines, she rejected a contract claim based on the asserted foreign passenger rights because the contract did not incorporate those rights, and denied amendment as futile.
“because the Contract does not incorporate the ASL, there is no basis for Plaintiffs' demand for relief pursuant to [the ASL] as a contractual obligation of [Defendant] ... must be denied as futile.”
In SEC v. Xia, Chen denied a creditor's post-judgment motion to intervene in a receivership as untimely under both Rule 24(a) and Rule 24(b), despite acknowledging possible prejudice to the creditor.
“motion untimely under both Rule 24(a)(2) and Rule 24(b)(1)(B).”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“Defendant Sunwing Travel Group's motion to dismiss is granted. The parties will engage in jurisdictional discovery for the next sixty (60) days. Plaintiff may file an amended complaint thirty (30) days after close of the jurisdictional discovery.”
“For the foregoing reasons, the Court grants Defendant's motion to dismiss in its entirety.”
“For the reasons stated above, Defendants' motion to dismiss as to Plaintiff's retaliation claims is granted in part and denied in part.”
“For the foregoing reasons, the Court denies Defendant's motions to compel arbitration and stay this action without prejudice.”
“For the reasons set forth above, the Court denies Plaintiff's motion for reconsideration.”
“For the foregoing reasons, Defendants' motion to withdraw their admissions to Plaintiff's Requests for Admission No. 10 and 11 is denied.”
“Defendants’ motions to dismiss are granted”
“The Court grants the petition for writ of habeas corpus. Respondents are directed to release Petitioner from custody immediately and no later than within 24 hours of this Order.”
“For the foregoing reasons, Pavlo Viner’s Petition for a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241, (Pet., Dkt. 1), is GRANTED.”
“Having granted the Petition, the Court finds Petitioner’s motion for a TRO, (see Mot. TRO, Dkt. 2), to be moot.”
“For the reasons set forth above, the Court denies Defendant’s motion to dismiss.”
“For the reasons set forth above, the Court grants summary judgment for Defendants on Plaintiff’s FLSA claims.”
“For the reasons stated above, the Court grants Defendants’ motion to dismiss Plaintiff’s Complaint for failure to state a claim.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Median case duration in the sampled dockets: 128 days (N = 5).
- An active Brooklyn judge of the Eastern District of New York.
- Her portfolio is dominated by criminal cases (including high-profile and sealed matters and multi-defendant indictments) and administrative miscellaneous matters (search warrants, civil forfeiture, government applications), alongside a civil docket spanning employment and Title VII, ADA, immigration (mandamus and habeas), prisoner civil rights, ERISA, FLSA and New York Labor Law wage suits, consumer, and contract and airline disputes.
- The caseload mix is qualitative.
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 | 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 | 25 |
| Report | Motions over six months | Cases over three years |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | 0 | 25 |
| Sep 2025 | 5 | 32 |
| Mar 2025 | 0 | 33 |
| Sep 2024 | 6 | 36 |
| Mar 2024 | 9 | 39 |
| Sep 2023 | 8 | 48 |
| Mar 2023 | 9 | 54 |
| Sep 2022 | 3 | 45 |
| Mar 2022 | 10 | 45 |
| Sep 2021 | 13 | 42 |
| Mar 2021 | 6 | 34 |
| Sep 2020 | 8 | 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 U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, not for Judge Chen: 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 | 7,392 | 6.7 months |
| Closed with no court action | 1,485 | 3 months |
| Closed before pretrial | 5,022 | 6.9 months |
| Closed during or after pretrial | 835 | 13.9 months |
| Closed during trial | 50 | 49.6 months |
| 12 months ending | Cases closed | Median time |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 7,392 | 6.7 months |
| Sep 2024 | 7,879 | 5.8 months |
| Sep 2023 | 7,746 | 5.1 months |
| Sep 2022 | 7,588 | 6.2 months |
| Sep 2021 | 6,709 | 7.9 months |
| Sep 2020 | 6,062 | 8.6 months |
| Sep 2019 | 6,858 | 8.1 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).
Draft for Judge Chen with the record in hand
Ezel grounds your drafting and research in this profile: what has persuaded Judge Chen, and what has not, cited to the signed orders.
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