Alison Julie Nathan
How Judge Nathan rules, drawn from 20 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
Judge Nathan left this court for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. This profile is preserved as a historical record of how they ruled here.
About Judge Nathan
Alison Julie Nathan was a judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Appointed by President Barack Obama, Judge Nathan received a commission on October 17, 2011. Judge Nathan left the court on March 31, 2022 on appointment to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
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.
“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.”
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.
“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.”
“the Court concludes that this case is ripe for transfer to the Middle District of Florida and GRANTS Defendants’ motion.”
“For the reasons articulated below, the Court GRANTS the motion to dismiss.”
“Defendant’s motion to dismiss is DENIED and the motion to strike is GRANTED.”
“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.”
“For the foregoing reasons, the SEC’s motion for summary judgment is GRANTED.”
“For the foregoing reasons, Plaintiffs motion is granted and Defendants’ cross-motion is denied.”
“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.”
“In conclusion, the Defendants’ motion is GRANTED.”
“The Defendants’ February 25, 2015 motion to dismiss is granted.”
“For the foregoing reasons, Brea’s habe-as petition is DISMISSED.”
“De Sesto’s motion to dismiss Slaine’s counterclaims and strike certain affirmative defenses is granted in part and denied 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.
Pending matters in the official report
Judge Nathan was last listed in the Civil Justice Reform Act report as of September 30, 2022.
| 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 | 0 |
| Report | Motions over six months | Cases over three years |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2022 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2022 | 1 | 19 |
| Sep 2021 | 0 | 20 |
| Mar 2021 | 0 | 28 |
| Sep 2020 | 0 | 27 |
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.
A historical record
Judge Nathan left this court for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. This profile stays available as a record of how they ruled here. If you're preparing for a matter, start from the court's current bench.