Lewis Jeffrey Liman
How Judge Liman rules, drawn from 34 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Liman
Lewis Jeffrey Liman is a judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Appointed by President Donald J. Trump, Judge Liman received a commission on December 31, 2019.
Judge Liman's practices and standing orders
Rules for cases before Judge Liman, 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.
- Case Management Plan and Scheduling Order ↗
- Individual Practices in Civil Cases ↗
- Individual Practices in Criminal Cases ↗
- Model Protective Order ↗
- Policy on the Use of Electronic Devices ↗
Key rules
Filing
Do not send courtesy copies unless directed by the court.
“L. Courtesy Copies. Do not send courtesy copies unless directed by the Court.”
Motions
Civil motions require neither pre-motion letters nor conferences unless the court orders otherwise.
“F. Pre-Motion Letters and Conferences in Civil Cases. Absent order of the Court, neither pre-motion letters nor pre-motion conferences are required.”
Discovery
After attempting to confer, a party may raise a non-pro-se discovery dispute by an ECF letter-motion of at most three single-spaced pages.
“to raise a discovery dispute with the Court must first attempt to confer in good faith with the opposing party, in person or by telephone, to try and resolve the dispute. If, after attempting to meet and confer, the dispute has not been resolved, any party may file a letter-motion on ECF, no longer than three single-spaced pages, explaining the nature of the dispute and the relief requested. Such letter shall include a certification”
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 Liman decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In Lalli v. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc., Judge Liman granted leave to file an amended complaint under Rule 15 and left any challenge to the new ERISA claim for a renewed motion to dismiss.
“The motion to amend is granted and the First Amended Complaint shall be filed no later than October 25, 2024.”
In a consumer-credit pleading dispute, treated an earned-wage advance as plausibly covered by federal credit law and declined to compel arbitration against alleged covered military borrowers.
“Because Plaintiffs are covered borrowers and have plausibly alleged that Instant Cash extends consumer credit under the MLA, the arbitration clause is unenforceable.”
Allowed the parent of an employer to enforce an employment arbitration agreement that expressly covered the employer’s affiliates and equity holders.
“As Avon’s parent company, LG is an equity holder and affiliate, and thus it is an Avon Entity which is a third-party beneficiary to the Arbitration Agreement and entitled to enforce it.”
Procedural preferences
In Murray v. City of New York, Judge Liman granted a Rule 41(b) dismissal without prejudice after the pro se plaintiff failed for more than a year to comply with orders to provide a records release and identifying information.
“Defendants' motion to dismiss is GRANTED without prejudice.”
In (RC) 2 Pharma Connect, LLC v. Mission Pharmacal Company, Judge Liman awarded fees and costs directly caused by a sanctionable amended complaint but excluded the costs of moving for sanctions and reduced excessive billing entries.
“Defendant's motion for attorneys' fees and costs is thus GRANTED IN PART AND DENIED IN PART. This Court awards Defendant $43,406.25 in attorneys' fees and $1,090.46 in expenses and costs.”
In the congestion-pricing litigation, he declined enforcement discovery after a declaratory judgment where the plaintiffs had not shown a risk that the defendants would violate it. A request for further relief needs concrete evidence of threatened noncompliance.
“MTA Plaintiffs also have not shown any entitlement to discovery.”
Cautions
In reviewing a claimed New York Shield Law privilege, Liman affirmed denial of a protective order where the defendants failed to show that their short-selling reports were produced for newsworthiness apart from their trading interests. A litigant seeking the privilege should substantiate the journalistic purpose of its work.
“What is conspicuously absent from Defendants’ showing, as it was from Fitch’s, is any assertion that Gotham publishes its reports at least in part based on a judgment about their newsworthiness”
In a discovery dispute, upheld a nonparty’s targeted Fifth Amendment objections after reviewing evidence of a concrete risk of prosecution, rather than treating the privilege claim as a blanket refusal.
“fear of prosecution here rises far above the speculative, trifling, or imaginary.”
In a dispute over deleted electronic records, denied sanctions where the movant relied on speculation about prejudice and did not show deletion intended to deprive it of evidence in litigation.
“Atos’s arguments for prejudice rely solely on speculation.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“Defendants' motion for judgment on the pleadings and summary judgment and to strike the collective action allegations, the class action allegations, and the jury demand is granted.”
“Defendants' motion to dismiss is GRANTED without prejudice.”
“Plaintiff's application for appointment of pro bono counsel is DENIED.”
“Defendant's motion for attorneys' fees and costs is thus GRANTED IN PART AND DENIED IN PART. This Court awards Defendant $43,406.25 in attorneys' fees and $1,090.46 in expenses and costs.”
“The motion to amend is granted and the First Amended Complaint shall be filed no later than October 25, 2024.”
“Defendant's pending motion to dismiss, Dkt. No. 9, is denied as moot due to the filing of the amended complaint.”
“Judge Gorenstein’s Order denying Defendants’ motion for a protective order is AFFIRMED.”
“Defendants’ motions to dismiss are GRANTED”
“The motion for sanctions is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART.”
“Defendant’s motion to compel arbitration and dismiss is GRANTED.”
“The motion for default judgment, Dkt. No. 18, is GRANTED.”
“For the foregoing reasons, the motion is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART.”
“Since the Court grants Defendants’ motion to dismiss with prejudice”
“For the following reasons, the motions are granted in part and denied in part.”
“Defendants’ motion for summary judgment is DENIED.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Liman took the bench at the end of 2019, so his first wave of terminated cases (his initial 2020 assignments) is fully visible: a heavy ADA Title III / disability-rights docket, Social Security appeals, ERISA collections, commercial contract, labor, and a civil forfeiture. Reflects his early caseload, not a tenure-wide mix.
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 | 3 |
| 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 | 14 |
| Report | Motions over six months | Cases over three years |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | 3 | 14 |
| Sep 2025 | 0 | 12 |
| Mar 2025 | 0 | 11 |
| Sep 2024 | 0 | 9 |
| Mar 2024 | 3 | 7 |
| Sep 2023 | 0 | 13 |
| Mar 2023 | 0 | 18 |
| Sep 2022 | 0 | 18 |
| Mar 2022 | 8 | 16 |
| Sep 2021 | 2 | 17 |
| Mar 2021 | 0 | 12 |
| Sep 2020 | 2 | 9 |
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 Liman: 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).
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