Nelson S. Roman
How Judge Roman rules, drawn from 26 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Roman
Nelson Stephen Román is a judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Appointed by President Barack Obama, Judge Román received a commission on May 13, 2013.
Judge Roman's practices and standing orders
Rules for cases before Judge Roman, 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.
- Civil Case Management Plan and Scheduling Order ↗
- Individual Practices in Civil Cases ↗
- Individual Rules of Practice in Criminal Cases ↗
- Individual Rules of Practice in Pro Se Cases ↗
Key rules
Filing
Email chambers one courtesy copy of pleadings and mail one hard courtesy copy of motion papers.
“D. Courtesy Copies. One courtesy electronic copy of all pleadings shall be submitted via email to Chambers as soon as practicable after filing. One courtesy hard copy of all motion papers shall be submitted via mail to Chambers when served on the other parties. All courtesy copies must be clearly marked as such, bound, and tabbed.”
Motions
Most motions require a pre-motion conference; pro hac vice, in limine, and temporary-restraining-order motions are excepted.
“A. Pre-Motion Conferences. A pre-motion conference with the Court is required before making any other motion, except motions for admission pro hac vice, motions in limine, and motions for temporary restraining orders. To arrange a pre-motion conference, the moving party shall submit a letter, not to exceed three pages, setting forth the basis for the anticipated motion. The opposing party shall submit a letter, also not to exceed three”
Conferences
Request adjournments or extensions at least 48 hours before the original deadline.
“Any request for adjournment or extension of time must be made at least 48 hours prior to the original deadline. If the requested adjournment or extension affects any other”
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 Roman decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In O'Toole, he denied the employer's motion to dismiss a Title VII complaint that alleged more favorable treatment of similarly situated male probationary officers and facts supporting an inference of discrimination.
“Defendant now moves, pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, to dismiss the Complaint in its entirety. For the following reasons, Defendant's motion to dismiss is DENIED.”
Procedural preferences
In Penn’s employment case, Roman granted summary judgment to New York Methodist Hospital on the remaining discrimination and retaliation claims. He held that the ministerial exception applied to the plaintiff’s chaplain role and the hospital’s pastoral care program.
“the relationship between Plaintiff and NYMH (specifically, the pastoral care department) was that of a religious employee and a religious institution. ... Therefore, Plaintiffs claims are barred by the Free Exercise Clause and the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, and the case must be dismissed.”
In Herbert’s prisoner civil rights case, Roman dismissed the second amended complaint because the alleged dates left too little time to complete the three step grievance process before filing, and the pleading did not claim that remedies were unavailable. He allowed a new action after exhaustion if available.
“Thus, it is mathematically impossible for Plaintiff to have fulfilled the entire three-step grievance process within any of those listed timeframes above.”
In Cameron’s FTCA suit, Roman held that the claimant’s account of treatment gave the agency too little information about the injuries to evaluate the claim. Medical records submitted after suit was filed did not cure the pre-suit defect.
“Plaintiff failed to provide sufficiently specific information to permit USPS to investigate and evaluate his claim.”
Cautions
In Langton's civil-rights suit, he dismissed the claims against the Town defendants while allowing some claims against the Library defendants to proceed on their separate Rule 12(b)(6) motions.
“the Town Defendants' motion is GRANTED and the Library Defendants' motion is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part.”
In one employee-benefits dispute, the plan record showed that medical premiums had been deducted before tax. The court granted the plan’s summary-judgment motion and declined a remand because the existing record would lead to the same result.
“Because the existing record points only to pre-tax deductions, remand would serve no purpose.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“Before the Court is Defendant Navigators Group, Inc.'s (‘Defendant’) motion for summary judgment on Plaintiff Jennifer Yang's (‘Plaintiff’) claims for violations of the anti-retaliation provision of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (‘SOX’), 18 U.S.C. 1514A, and the whistleblower protection provision of the Dodd-Frank Act (‘DFA’), 15 U.S.C. 78u-6(h)(i). For the following reasons, Defendant's motion is GRANTED.”
“For the reasons stated above, Defendants’ motion for summary judgment is GRANTED, and the Complaint should be dismissed in accordance with this opinion.”
“Each defendant group has moved to dismiss pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. For the following reasons, the Town Defendants' motion is GRANTED and the Library Defendants' motion is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part.”
“the Town Defendants' motion is GRANTED and the Library Defendants' motion is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part.”
“Defendant now moves, pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, to dismiss the Complaint in its entirety. For the following reasons, Defendant's motion to dismiss is DENIED.”
“For the foregoing reasons, Defendants’ motion to dismiss is GRANTED.”
“For the foregoing reasons, Defendants’ motion to dismiss is GRANTED. Plaintiffs’ due process claims are dismissed with prejudice, and Plaintiffs’ takings claim is dismissed without prejudice.”
“For the foregoing reasons, the Court DENIES Credit One’s motion for leave to appeal the Bankruptcy Court’s order denying its motion to strike class allegations and dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.”
“the Government’s application for the involuntary medication of Defendant is GRANTED.”
“Additionally, Defendant’s motion to dismiss the indictment is DENIED without prejudice—motions must be filed by Defendant’s counsel.”
“For the foregoing reasons, the Court AFFIRMS the Bankruptcy Court’s order denying Credit One’s motion to compel arbitration.”
“Accordingly, Credit One’s motion to expedite the appeal and motion to stay the Bankruptcy Court proceedings are mooted.”
“Defendant’s motion to dismiss Plaintiff’s Complaint is GRANTED.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Judge Roman sits at the White Plains courthouse. The visible docket slice is current and 2026-heavy: alien-detainee and general habeas, civil-rights/employment, contract, insurance, copyright, and a civil-rights-other matter. Reflects current assignments, not a tenure-wide caseload; the only terminated docket on the visible page is a days-long procedural termination.
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 | 2 |
| Social Security appeals pending more than six months | 0 |
| Civil cases pending more than three years | 51 |
| Report | Motions over six months | Cases over three years |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | 0 | 51 |
| Sep 2025 | 2 | 44 |
| Mar 2025 | 6 | 43 |
| Sep 2024 | 5 | 53 |
| Mar 2024 | 23 | 75 |
| Sep 2023 | 14 | 76 |
| Mar 2023 | 0 | 66 |
| Sep 2022 | 16 | 72 |
| Mar 2022 | 41 | 78 |
| Sep 2021 | 40 | 86 |
| Mar 2021 | 13 | 71 |
| Sep 2020 | 18 | 49 |
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 Roman: 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 Roman with the record in hand
Ezel grounds your drafting and research in this profile: what has persuaded Judge Roman, and what has not, cited to the signed orders.
Opens in Ezel Pro.
- Grounded in Judge Roman's own signed orders
- Cites every source it relies on, so you can verify it
- Chat, drafting and research in one workspace