George Benjamin Daniels
How Judge Daniels rules, drawn from 32 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Daniels
George B. Daniels is a judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Appointed by President William J. Clinton, Judge Daniels received a commission on March 9, 2000. Judge Daniels assumed senior status on May 1, 2021.
Judge Daniels's practices and standing orders
Rules for cases before Judge Daniels, 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
Motions
Non-discovery civil motions do not require a pre-motion conference.
“Pre-Motion Conferences in Civil Cases. For discovery motions, follow Local Civil Rule 37.2. For motions other than discovery motions, pre-motion conferences are not required.”
Motions
Opening and opposition memoranda are limited to 25 pages, and reply memoranda to 10 pages, absent permission.
“. Memoranda of Law. Unless prior permission has been granted, memoranda of law in support of and in opposition to motions are limited to 25 pages, and reply memoranda are limited to 10 pages. Memoranda of 10 pages or more shall contain a table of contents. Sur-reply memoranda will not be accepted without”
Conferences
Adjournment and extension requests must be written and filed electronically.
“C. Requests for Adjournment or Extension of Time. All requests for adjournments or extensions of time shall be in writing and electronically filed as”
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 8, 2026).
- Amended Standing Order on Highly Sensitive Documents ↗
- Second Amended Standing Order on Civil Case Opening ↗
- Amended Standing Order on Miscellaneous Civil Case Opening ↗
- Standing Order on Applications to File a Civil Case Under Seal ↗
- Standing Order on Emergency Relief and Section 2255 Filing Procedures ↗
- Notice on Immigration Custody Habeas Petitions and Emergency Relief ↗
How Judge Daniels decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In a securities-fraud case, he denied the motion to dismiss as to Sanofi, Le Fur, and Spek, but granted it as to Dehecq, Cluzel, Lehner, Greene, and Leroy.
“The motion to dismiss is DENIED as to Defendants sanofi, Le Fur, and Spek. The motion to dismiss is GRANTED as to Defendants Dehecq, Cluzel, Lehner, Greene, and Leroy.”
In a copyright case, the court resolved fair use at the pleading stage because the defense was apparent from the complaint and incorporated materials.
“Because the defense of fair use is apparent on the face of the complaint, the motion is granted, and the complaint is dismissed in its entirety.”
Procedural preferences
In an ERISA valuation dispute, he denied both sides’ summary-judgment motions because material facts remained contested.
“Accordingly, both parties’ motions for summary judgment are DENIED.”
In a trademark dispute, he denied summary judgment after finding factual disputes about likelihood of confusion.
“Summary judgment is therefore inappropriate ‘if there is any evidence in the record that could reasonably support a jury’s verdict for the non-moving party.’”
Cautions
In one credit application case, he held that a denied application alone did not establish a contract with the lender. After adopting the recommendation to dismiss all claims with prejudice, he denied leave to replead because the plaintiff identified no facts that could cure the defects.
“A credit card application, without more, is insufficient to establish an enforceable contractual relationship, express or implied.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“Defendants' move pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6) and 9(b) to dismiss the First Amended Complaint in its entirety against all Defendants for failure to state a claim. The motion to dismiss is DENIED as to Defendants sanofi, Le Fur, and Spek. The motion to dismiss is GRANTED as to Defendants Dehecq, Cluzel, Lehner, Greene, and Leroy.”
“Defendants’ motion for summary judgment is therefore GRANTED. Plaintiffs Tenth, and only remaining, Claim for Relief is DISMISSED.”
“On March 1, 2013, BBW filed the instant motion for summary judgment to dismiss Summit’s counterclaims and grant BBW declaratory relief. ECF No. 114. BBW’s motion for summary judgment is DENIED.”
“After reviewing the parties’ briefs, the record, and with the benefit of oral argument, this Court has concluded that there are several material facts in dispute and that neither party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a). Accordingly, both parties’ motions for summary judgment are DENIED.”
“Defendant's motion is GRANTED. Plaintiffs' motions are both DENIED.”
“Plaintiffs moved for partial summary judgment ... granting judgment in Plaintiffs' favor on the gross negligence and UCC claims. ... Defendant's motion is GRANTED. Plaintiffs' motions are both DENIED.”
“Cross-Defendants DYP and Guo’s Motion to Dismiss for failure to state a claim is GRANTED as to Cross-Claimant Underwriters’ remaining claim for contractual indemnification.”
“Because Lawson’s deposition testimony could not lead a rational trier of fact to find for her on any of her claims, there is no genuine issue for trial, and Defendants’ motion for summary judgment is GRANTED.”
“Accordingly, Defendants’ motion to dismiss the first cause of action under the FLSA is GRANTED.”
“Defendant’s motion to dismiss is GRANTED. Accordingly, Plaintiffs’ claims and this case are DISMISSED.”
“Therefore, the motion to dismiss the Complaint is GRANTED. This case is DISMISSED.”
“Accordingly, plaintiffs motion for summary judgment is denied.”
“Defendant’s motion for summary judgment is granted and the complaint is dismissed.”
“Defendants’ motion for summary judgment is GRANTED. Plaintiffs’ claims are dismissed.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Duration sample drawn from 20 civil cases filed in a single window (January-February 2016) and since terminated; durations are filed-minus-terminated. The mix below is that window, not a tenure-wide caseload.
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 | 357 |
| Report | Motions over six months | Cases over three years |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | 0 | 357 |
| Sep 2025 | 0 | 356 |
| Mar 2025 | 0 | 364 |
| Sep 2024 | 0 | 372 |
| Mar 2024 | 0 | 369 |
| Sep 2023 | 0 | 355 |
| Mar 2023 | 0 | 360 |
| Sep 2022 | 0 | 355 |
| Mar 2022 | 0 | 354 |
| Sep 2021 | 0 | 94 |
| Mar 2021 | 0 | 73 |
| Sep 2020 | 0 | 57 |
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 Southern District of New York, not for Judge Daniels: 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 | 9,565 | 5.6 months |
| Closed with no court action | 1,749 | 3.5 months |
| Closed before pretrial | 6,416 | 5.1 months |
| Closed during or after pretrial | 1,313 | 14.1 months |
| Closed during trial | 87 | 51.7 months |
| 12 months ending | Cases closed | Median time |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 9,565 | 5.6 months |
| Sep 2024 | 10,695 | 6.4 months |
| Sep 2023 | 10,316 | 5.6 months |
| Sep 2022 | 11,818 | 6.1 months |
| Sep 2021 | 10,662 | 5.7 months |
| Sep 2020 | 10,118 | 6.6 months |
| Sep 2019 | 11,357 | 6.6 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 Daniels with the record in hand
Ezel grounds your drafting and research in this profile: what has persuaded Judge Daniels, and what has not, cited to the signed orders.
Opens in Ezel Pro.
- Grounded in Judge Daniels's own signed orders
- Cites every source it relies on, so you can verify it
- Chat, drafting and research in one workspace