Katharine H. Parker

How Judge Parker rules, drawn from 7 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.

Court
United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
Appointed by
United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (merit selection)
Commissioned
2016-11-04
Education
B.A., cum laude, Duke University, 1989; J.D., cum laude, Fordham University School of Law, 1992 (Order of the Coif; Notes & Articles Editor, Fordham Law Review)
Signed orders read
7

How Judge Parker decides

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

What persuades

On FLSA collective certification she holds plaintiffs to the 'modest factual showing' standard and will deny conditional certification (without prejudice) where the record does not yet support that the putative members were similarly situated: a meaningful gate for employment-side plaintiffs given her labor-and-employment background.

“Plaintiffs now move for conditional certification of their FLSA claims as a collective action ... For the reasons stated below, Plaintiffs' motion is denied without prejudice.”

On discovery directed at the government in constitutional litigation she enforces governmental privileges firmly: a subpoena to a Governor for non-public documents about a statute's purpose and tailoring can be quashed as both irrelevant and protected by legislative, deliberative-process, and attorney-client privilege.

“For the reasons that follow, the Governor's motion to quash is GRANTED.”

Procedural preferences

Her R&Rs are adopted in full, including over a pro se litigant's objections, after the district judge's de novo review: a signal that her recommendations are well-grounded. She also actively manages her consent Social Security docket toward efficient disposition, frequently resolving cases by stipulated sentence-four remands.

“the Court, after a de novo review of the objected-to aspects of the Report, adopts the Report in its entirety, and therefore grants in part, and denies in part, Gaughan's motion to amend.”

Signed rulings

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

Brown v. Barnes & Noble, Inc.
252 F. Supp. 3d 255 · 2017-05-02
Motion for conditional certification (plaintiff) Denied

“Plaintiffs now move for conditional certification of their FLSA claims as a collective action and for leave to disseminate notice to the putative FLSA collective, pursuant to 29 U.S.C. § 216(b). For the reasons stated below, Plaintiffs' motion is denied without prejudice.”

Citizens Union of New York v. Attorney General of New York
269 F. Supp. 3d 124 · 2017-09-01
Motion to quash (respondent (Governor of New York; non-party subpoena target)) Granted

“For the reasons that follow, the Governor's motion to quash is GRANTED.”

Gaughan v. Rubenstein
261 F. Supp. 3d 390 · 2017-07-11
Motion to amend (plaintiff) Granted in part

“Magistrate Judge Katharine Parker, in a Report & Recommendation to the Court, Dkt. 38 (‘Report’), recommends that Gaughan's motion be granted in part and denied in part. ... the Court, after a de novo review of the objected-to aspects of the Report, adopts the Report in its entirety, and therefore grants in part, and denies in part, Gaughan's motion to amend.”

Agosto v. Bisignano (Commissioner of Social Security)
1:25-cv-07525 · 2026-05-14
Judgment on the pleadings (plaintiff) Moot / procedural

“STIPULATION AND ORDER OF REMAND PURSUANT TO SENTENCE FOUR OF 42 U.S.C. § 405(g): IT IS HEREBY STIPULATED AND AGREED ... that the Commissioner's decision be, and hereby is, reversed and that this action be, and hereby is, remanded to the Commissioner of Social Security, pursuant to the fourth sentence of 42 U.S.C. § 405(g) ... SO ORDERED. (Signed by Magistrate Judge Katharine H. Parker on 5/14/2026)”

507 Summit LLC and KOA Capital L.P. v. Balance Law PLLC
1:25-mc-00235 · 2026-01-26
Section 1782 discovery application (applicants) Granted in part

“For the above-stated reasons, the Petition is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part.”

507 Summit LLC and KOA Capital L.P. v. Balance Law PLLC
1:25-mc-00235 · 2026-04-10
Motion to quash (respondent) Granted

“For the reasons set forth above, the motion to quash is GRANTED.”

Resto v. Commissioner of Social Security
1:24-cv-09127 · 2026-02-27
Motion for attorney fees (plaintiff's counsel) Granted

“the Court finds the requested award be found ‘reasonable,’ and that attorney’s fees be granted in the amount of $8,529.75.”

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Ezel grounds your drafting and research in this profile: what has persuaded Judge Parker, and what has not, cited to the signed orders.

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