Taryn A. Merkl
How Judge Merkl rules, drawn from 15 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Merkl
Taryn A. Merkl became a United States Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of New York in 2021. She sits in Brooklyn and hears matters referred by the district judges.
Judge Merkl's practices and standing orders
Rules for cases before Judge Merkl, 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.
- Practices and Rules ↗
- Case Management Worksheet (Merkl) ↗
- Joint Pretrial Order (Merkl) ↗
- Standing Confidentiality Order (Merkl) ↗
Key rules
Filing
Do not send courtesy copies except for dispositive motions in magistrate consent cases.
“No courtesy copies should be submitted except for dispositive motions submitted in cases where the parties have consented to magistrate judge jurisdiction (see Section 2.B below).”
Conferences
Send a settlement statement to chambers one week before a scheduled settlement conference.
“Once a settlement conference is scheduled before Judge Merkl, parties are required to submit a settlement statement one week in advance of the conference, submitted to the Chambers email address above.”
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 Merkl decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In Joe Hand Promotions v. Manetta, Merkl recommended denying default judgment on a 47 U.S.C. § 605 claim because the complaint did not allege that the defendant derived financial gain from the unauthorized broadcast. The district judge adopted her recommendation.
“those facts still do not state valid claims, because they do not establish that the defendant derived financial gain from the unauthorized broadcast -- an element of 605.”
In Winwear v. North South U.S., Merkl recommended default judgment on the breach-of-contract claim and dismissal of conversion and fraud claims as duplicative. The district judge adopted her recommendation.
“the Court respectfully recommends that Plaintiff's motion for a default judgment be granted ... but dismissing the conversion and fraud claims as duplicative of the breach of contract claim”
In Gibson v. Grant, Merkl recommended summary judgment for the officers on both the absence of a genuine factual dispute and qualified immunity. The district judge adopted the recommendation after reviewing the plaintiff's objections.
“no genuine dispute of material fact exists; that Defendants are entitled to qualified immunity; and that for both reasons, Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment should be granted.”
In an ERISA default-judgment recommendation, she reduced requested attorney fees by ten percent because the billing submissions were incomplete and did not justify the hours sought. The district judge adopted the recommendation.
“the Court recommends reducing the requested fee award by 10 percent.”
Procedural preferences
In Hashimi v. Senecea Management, Merkl recommended Rule 41(b) dismissal after the plaintiff repeatedly missed default-judgment deadlines despite warnings. The district judge adopted her recommendation.
“Magistrate Judge Taryn A. Merkl recommended that the Court dismiss the case for failure to prosecute ... that he received proper notice about the risk of dismissal, and that future delay would prejudice the defendants.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“Judge Merkl properly concluded that no genuine dispute of material fact exists; that Defendants are entitled to qualified immunity; and that for both reasons, Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment should be granted.”
“Judge Merkl recommended (1) dismissal without prejudice of Plaintiff's claims under the New York Labor Law for wage notice and wage statement violations; and (2) entry of default judgment in Plaintiff's favor on the remaining claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act and the New York Labor Law.”
“the Court respectfully recommends that Plaintiff's motion for a default judgment be granted. The Court further recommends finding Defendant liable for the breach of contract cause of action, but dismissing the conversion and fraud claims as duplicative of the breach of contract claim ... judgment be entered in the amount of (1) $277,046.40 in damages and (2) $402.00 in costs”
“she recommended that I deny default judgment because the plaintiff has not established that the defendant has [no] meritorious defense ... those facts still do not state valid claims, because they do not establish that the defendant derived financial gain from the unauthorized broadcast -- an element of 605.”
Her REPORT & RECOMMENDATION (ECF 19, dated 2025-02-14) recommending dismissal for failure to prosecute (FRCP 41(b)) in an ADA case after the plaintiff repeatedly missed default-judgment deadlines despite warnings. Adopted by Judge Donnelly on 2025-03-04. This is a non-motion sua sponte dispositive ruling.
“Until then, the Court respectfully recommends that Plaintiff’s motion for settlement approval not be granted until the deficiencies outlined above are remedied.”
“For the foregoing reasons, it is respectfully recommended that this case be dismissed without prejudice pursuant to Rule 4(m) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.”
“For the foregoing reasons, it is respectfully recommended that this case be dismissed without prejudice pursuant to Rule 4(m) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.”
“fees be granted and that Plaintiff’s counsel be awarded”
“Accordingly, Defendant Bowens’s motion to appoint counsel is denied.”
“Accordingly, Defendant Kacamakovic’s motion to appoint counsel is denied.”
“the Court respectfully recommends that Plaintiffs’ motion for default judgment be granted.”
“For the reasons discussed above, Defendants’ motion to compel is granted, in part, and Plaintiff is directed to amend her responses to Interrogatory Nos. 10 and 16 consistent with this order. All other aspects of Defendants’ requested relief are denied.”
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 | 4 |
| Report | Motions over six months | Cases over three years |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | 0 | 4 |
| Sep 2025 | 0 | 6 |
| Mar 2025 | 0 | 8 |
| Sep 2024 | 0 | 4 |
| Mar 2024 | 0 | 5 |
| Sep 2023 | 0 | 1 |
| Mar 2023 | 0 | 1 |
| Sep 2022 | 0 | 1 |
| Mar 2022 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2021 | 0 | 0 |
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 Eastern District of New York, not for Judge Merkl: 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 Merkl with the record in hand
Ezel grounds your drafting and research in this profile: what has persuaded Judge Merkl, and what has not, cited to the signed orders.
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