Alison Julie Nathan

How Judge Nathan rules, drawn from 20 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.

Judge Nathan no longer hears cases. This profile is preserved as a historical record of how they ruled.

Court
United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
Position
district
Status
Elevated to a higher court
Served
2011–2022
Appointed by
Barack Obama (Democratic)
Commissioned
2011-10-17
Education
Cornell University, B.A., 1994; Cornell Law School, J.D., 2000
Signed orders read
20

How Judge Nathan decides

Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.

What persuades

Nathan applied de novo review to a benefits denial when the administrator extended its decision deadline without identifying the special circumstances required by the governing claims procedure.

“the de novo standard applies to the review of the denial of Salisbury’s claim because Prudential violated the Department of Labor’s claims-procedure regulation”

She entered judgment on an insider-trading claim where the undisputed record established the violation and supported disgorgement, interest, and a civil penalty.

“For the foregoing reasons, the SEC’s motion for summary judgment is GRANTED.”

Procedural preferences

Nathan permitted expedited identification discovery in a mass copyright action only under a detailed protective order that allowed affected subscribers time to challenge the subpoenas.

“good cause exists for Digital Sin to engage in cabined expedited discovery with respect to the IP addresses listed in Exhibit A to its Complaint”

She transferred a case before reaching personal jurisdiction when venue was the threshold issue and the relevant investigation, charges, and witnesses centered in the transferee district.

“the Court grants the motion and therefore declines to reach the issue of personal jurisdiction.”

Signed rulings

A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.

Digital Sin, Inc. v. Does 1-176
· 2012-01-30
Motion for expedited discovery (Digital Sin, Inc.) Granted

“IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Digital Sin may immediately serve a Rule 45 subpoena on the ISPs listed in Exhibit A to the Complaint to obtain information to identify Does 1-176, specifically her or his name, address, MAC address, and email address.”

CYI, Inc. v. Ja-Ru, Inc.
· 2012-12-21
Motions to transfer (defendants) Granted

“the Court concludes that this case is ripe for transfer to the Middle District of Florida and GRANTS Defendants’ motion.”

Lesesne v. Brimecome
· 2013-01-14
Motions to dismiss (Charlotte and Ian Brimecome) Granted

“For the reasons articulated below, the Court GRANTS the motion to dismiss.”

Rubinstein v. Department Stores National Bank
· 2013-07-22
Motions to dismiss (Department Stores National Bank) Denied

“Defendant’s motion to dismiss is DENIED and the motion to strike is GRANTED.”

Motion to strike damages request (Department Stores National Bank) Granted
Agence France Presse v. Morel
· 2013-10-24
Motion in limine (Agence France Presse and Getty Images) Granted in part

“the Court agrees that Plaintiff must be held to arguing the theory of damages that he disclosed to Defendants prior to the close of fact discovery. In light of this resolution, the Court reserves decision on the parties’ arguments regarding the interpretation of the DMCA’s statutory damages provision.”

Securities and Exchange Commission v. Kinnucan
· 2014-03-25
Summary judgment (Securities and Exchange Commission) Granted

“For the foregoing reasons, the SEC’s motion for summary judgment is GRANTED.”

Juarez v. 449 Restaurant, Inc.
· 2014-07-02
Motion for conditional collective certification (Vincente Juarez) Granted

“For the foregoing reasons, Plaintiffs motion is granted and Defendants’ cross-motion is denied.”

Judgment on the pleadings (defendants) Denied
Arista Records, LLC v. Tkach
· 2015-06-03
Motion for supplemental injunction order (record-company plaintiffs) Granted

“the Court concludes and clarifies that third-party service provider CloudFlare, Inc. was bound by the TRO and is bound by the existing preliminary injunction in this case.”

Lleshi v. Kerry
· 2015-09-01
Motions to dismiss (government defendants) Granted

“In conclusion, the Defendants’ motion is GRANTED.”

McDonald v. West
· 2015-09-30
Motions to dismiss (music-industry defendants) Granted

“The Defendants’ February 25, 2015 motion to dismiss is granted.”

Brea v. Mechkowski
· 2016-01-13
Petition for habeas corpus (Sigfrido Ramon Brea) Moot / procedural

“For the foregoing reasons, Brea’s habe-as petition is DISMISSED.”

De Sesto v. Slaine
· 2016-03-18
Motion to dismiss counterclaims (Marichu De Sesto) Granted in part

“De Sesto’s motion to dismiss Slaine’s counterclaims and strike certain affirmative defenses is granted in part and denied in part.”

Motion to strike affirmative defenses (Marichu De Sesto) Granted in part

Caseload & timing

From public federal docket records for this judge.

The five sampled terminated matters included civil-rights, prisoner, contract, and Social Security disputes. Their filing-to-termination intervals were 126, 217, 311, 470, and 493 days, with a median of 311 days. This small early-tenure sample does not represent the full caseload.

A historical record

Judge Nathan no longer hears cases. This profile stays available as a record of how they ruled. If you're preparing for a matter, start from the court's current bench.