Vera M. Scanlon
How Judge Scanlon rules, drawn from 24 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Scanlon
Vera M. Scanlon has served as a U.S. magistrate judge for the Eastern District of New York since 2012 and has served as chief magistrate judge. She earned a bachelor's degree from Columbia University and a law degree from Yale Law School.
Judge Scanlon's practices and standing orders
Rules for cases before Judge Scanlon, 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
Provide courtesy copies only if the Court requests them.
“Courtesy copies should only be provided upon request of the Court.”
Conferences
Request a settlement conference by joint ECF letter motion proposing at least three dates.
“If the parties would like to schedule a settlement conference with the Court, they may make a joint request by letter motion on ECF and include at least three dates on which all counsel and parties with full settlement authority are available to attend in person.”
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 Scanlon decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In Freedom Mortgage's foreclosure case, Scanlon recommended denying default judgment without prejudice because the lender had not supplied proof of compliance with New York's pre-foreclosure notice requirements. The district judge adopted the recommendation despite the lender's objection.
“she recommended that FMC's motion be denied without prejudice for failure to provide evidence of compliance with ... RPAPL §§ 1304 and 1306.”
In Friedland's benefits case, Scanlon granted UBS summary judgment because the pension plan did not allow payment under both benefit options and the parties' settlement agreements did not formally amend the plan.
“The Plan does not permit the payment of a participant’s accrued pension benefits under both options”
Procedural preferences
In Lopa, Scanlon recommended denying the insurer's motion to dismiss for failure to prosecute after weighing the five Drake factors. The district judge adopted the recommendation and chose attorney-fee sanctions in light of the delay.
“Magistrate Judge Scanlon performed a detailed analysis of the five Drake factors, determining that the first two factors might tilt in favor of dismissal, but that the last three did not.”
In Monaco, Scanlon allowed general deposition questions about employment meetings but protected communications involving the institution’s counsel after finding that counsel’s primary purpose was legal advice.
“Defendants have sufficiently shown that Ms. Douglas’s primary purpose in attending the meetings was to provide legal advice”
Cautions
In Papapietro v. Clott, Judge Scanlon rejected MTGLQ's argument that the plaintiff's borrower status barred his RESPA claim, while recommending dismissal of the claim on other grounds.
“Here, by MTGLQ's own admission, Plaintiff was obligated on the mortgage and, as such, ... Plaintiff's status would not preclude him from asserting a RESPA claim.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“she recommended that FMC's motion be denied without prejudice for failure to provide evidence of compliance with New York Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law (‘RPAPL’) §§ 1304 and 1306. ... the Court, having conducted a de novo review ..., adopts the R&R in its entirety.”
“Judge Scanlon recommended that the Court consider Petitioners’ motion as an unopposed motion for summary judgment, grant Petitioners’ motion and enter a judgment against Respondent in the amount of $10,675.08 ... finding no clear error, the Court adopts Judge Scanlon’s R&R in its entirety. Petitioners’ motion is granted.”
“Judge Scanlon issued a Report on February 18, 2014, recommending: (1) Defendant’s motion be denied without prejudice ... the Court adopts the Report and Recommendation and hereby denies Fireman Fund’s Motion to Dismiss.”
“As recommended by Judge Scanlon, plaintiff’s motion for a default judgment is granted in part and denied in part. Plaintiff’s motion is granted with respect to defendant El Sonador Café Restaurant Inc.’s ... liability under the Federal Communications Act ... 47 U.S.C. § 605, and denied with respect to defendant Jose A. Bernal.”
“On December 28, 2016, United States Magistrate Judge Vera M. Scanlon issued a report and recommendation ..., which recommended that this Court deny Plaintiff Yvonne Spaulding’s motion to vacate the settlement agreement ... the Court hereby adopts Magistrate Judge Scanlon’s Report and Recommendation in its entirety ... Plaintiff’s motion to vacate the settlement agreement is hereby denied in its entirety.”
“Judge Scanlon issued the Report on June 26, 2015, recommending that this Court grant in part and deny in part plaintiff Kroutchev Demosthene’s ... motion to file a Second Proposed Amended Complaint. ... this Court affirms and adopts the Report in its entirety. ... Plaintiff’s motion is granted in part and denied in part”
“On August 11, 2014, Magistrate Judge Scanlon issued a Report and Recommendation ... recommending that the Court deny Erlikh’s motion to amend his answer to include the proposed counterclaims. ... Erlikh’s motion to amend his answer is denied”
“the Court grant[s] GEICO’s motion to dismiss the claims against the Erlikhs pursuant to Rule 41(a)(2) ... GEICO’s claims against the Erlikhs are dismissed without prejudice.”
“the Court treats Defendant’s motion as one for summary judgment and grants summary judgment for Defendant. ... summary judgment is granted in favor of Defendant UBS AG.”
“The Court respectfully recommends that the District Court grant the joint motion to vacate the default judgment at ECF No. 23 ... this Court respectfully recommends that the judgment at ECF No. 19 be vacated, and that the certificates of default ... be vacated as well.”
“this Court respectfully recommends that the District Court grant Bank of America’s motion as unopposed ... and dismiss Plaintiff’s claims against Bank of America ... with prejudice.”
“this Court respectfully recommends that the District Court grant MTGLQ’s motion and dismiss Plaintiff’s claims against ... MTGLQ with prejudice.”
“Judge Scanlon recommended that the Court strike A&N's answer and deny Plaintiff's motion for default judgment without prejudice (the ‘R&R’). ... The Court has reviewed the R&R and, finding no clear error, adopts the R&R pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1). ... the Court strikes A&N's answer and denies Plaintiff's motion for default judgment”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Median case duration in the sampled dockets: 422.0 days (N = 4).
Median motion-to-ruling time: 1 days (N = 13).
- As Chief Magistrate Judge of the Eastern District of New York (Brooklyn), her assigned docket is dominated by criminal and miscellaneous duty-magistrate matters (search and seizure warrants, criminal complaints, removals) that open and close within days, plus a steady stream of civil consent cases skewed toward FLSA and wage suits, ADA public-accommodation access, civil rights, and intellectual property.
- Recent assignments confirm she remains actively assigned.
- The mix is qualitative, drawn from case-level records.
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 | 3 |
| Report | Motions over six months | Cases over three years |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | 0 | 3 |
| Sep 2025 | 0 | 2 |
| Mar 2025 | 0 | 1 |
| Sep 2024 | 0 | 1 |
| Mar 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2023 | 0 | 2 |
| Mar 2023 | 0 | 3 |
| Sep 2022 | 0 | 1 |
| Mar 2022 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2021 | 0 | 1 |
| Mar 2021 | 0 | 1 |
| Sep 2020 | 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 Scanlon: 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 Scanlon with the record in hand
Ezel grounds your drafting and research in this profile: what has persuaded Judge Scanlon, and what has not, cited to the signed orders.
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