Daniel J. Doyle
How Judge Doyle rules, drawn from 22 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Doyle
Daniel J. Doyle has served as a New York Supreme Court justice in the Seventh Judicial District since 2007. He is assigned to the district’s Commercial Division and became supervising judge for its civil Supreme Court in 2023. He earned his undergraduate and law degrees from Syracuse University and previously served as a Monroe County assistant district attorney and a commissioner of the New York State Board of Parole.
Judge Doyle's practices and standing orders
Rules for cases before Judge Doyle, as published on the court's website (checked October 11, 2026). Judges revise these often, so confirm the current version on the court's site before you file.
Key rules
Contacting chambers
Do not contact the judge directly by email or telephone; copy all parties when emailing law clerks or the secretary.
“E-mail or telephone communication with the Judge directly is not permitted. Counsel is free to communicate by email with the law clerks and secretary. With the exception of permissible ex parte matters, all parties must be included in email communications with the law clerk or secretary.”
Filing
E-file correspondence to the court in e-filed cases; paper copies are unnecessary.
“In e-filed cases, all correspondence to the Court (e.g., letters to the Court) shall be e-filed. There is no need to send paper copies to the Court.”
Motions
Request motion adjournments in writing on notice; email requests are allowed.
“Adjournment requests must be in writing on notice. Requests by email are acceptable.”
Discovery
Seek an amendment of a discovery scheduling order on notice at least five days before it expires.
“Any request to amend a scheduling order must be done by a letter or email application, on notice to all parties, detailing (1) the discovery that has been completed to date; (2) the discovery that still needs to be completed; (3) the reasons for the delay; and (4) the positions of all parties on the request for the amendment. Such requests shall be made at least five (5) days prior to the expiration of the scheduling order.”
Conferences
Commercial Division conferences generally use Microsoft Teams unless the court directs otherwise.
“Conferences, unless informed otherwise by the Court, shall be conducted virtually using Microsoft Teams.”
How Judge Doyle decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In Samson MCA LLC v. DI Construction LLC, he rejected a percentage-based attorneys' fee in a merchant-advance agreement. The opinion states that the court routinely denies such fees for the reasons it gives there.
“The Court routinely denies granting plaintiff's in merchant advance agreements percentage-based attorneys' fees for the reasons set forth infra.”
In Byrnes, Doyle held that the Legislature had violated the constitutional sequence for proposing an amendment by voting before receiving the Attorney General’s written opinion; he rejected its substantial-compliance argument. The Fourth Department later reversed on limitations grounds without reaching his constitutional analysis.
“'Substantial compliance' is not compliance, and this court cannot condone actions taken by the Legislature in derogation of the expressed will of the people.”
In Matter of Bayly v. Marshall, he rejected an election-law challenge because the petitioners supplied no evidence beyond supposition that the name 'Ella Marshall' would confuse voters.
“Petitioners submit no evidence -- beyond mere supposition -- that the use of the name 'Ella Marshall' will result in voter confusion as to Marshall's identity.”
In Council v. National Collegiate Athletic Association, Doyle found a likelihood of success on an implied-covenant claim because a hardship waiver request had been cancelled without consideration of its merits.
“the request was cancelled because a previous Pavia Waiver had been granted.”
Procedural preferences
In Stuver v. Greenlight Parent, Doyle denied a CPLR motion to dismiss based on an arbitration clause. Applying Second, Third, and Fourth Department precedent, he held that an agreement to arbitrate was not itself a defense to the plenary action; neither party had moved to compel arbitration.
“the existence of an agreement to arbitrate is not a defense to a plenary action and thus it may not be the basis for a motion to dismiss”
In Baldino v. Sansone, he quashed overbroad trial subpoenas in a special proceeding rather than sorting responsive material from improper requests.
“it is neither plaintiff's nor this court's role to 'cull the good from the bad'”
In MacDonald v. County of Monroe, he attributed the scale of the work required for the requested election-related relief to the plaintiff's delay in bringing the action.
“The necessity of such a large undertaking is due to the plaintiff's delay in initiating the action.”
Cautions
His highest-profile constitutional ruling to date, voiding the Legislature's 2022 vote to advance the Equal Rights Amendment, was unanimously reversed by the Fourth Department on a threshold procedural ground (the claim should have proceeded as a CPLR article 78 proceeding, whose four-month limitations period had run) without the appellate court reaching the merits of his constitutional analysis; a litigant relying on the trial-level reasoning in that opinion should know it was never appellate-tested on the merits.
“It is hereby ordered that the judgment insofar as appealed from is unanimously reversed on the law without costs, the cross-motion is denied, the declaration is vacated, the motion is granted in its entirety, and the complaint is dismissed against defendants Senate of the State of New York and Assembly of the State of New York.”
A denial of summary judgment can be modified on appeal into an outright grant where the Fourth Department finds the trial court underweighted undisputed deposition testimony establishing the parties' shared intent, so a party that wins a close denial at the trial level should not assume that outcome is stable if uncontroverted testimony cuts the other way.
“the court erred in denying those parts of their motions seeking to reform the lease, and we therefore modify the order by dismissing the first, fourth, fifth, and sixth causes of action”
Even a fully-briefed SEQRA or standing ruling can be reshaped by intervening appellate precedent from above: his own environmental-review merits determination was reinstated only after the Court of Appeals reversed an intermediate Fourth Department panel's contrary standing holding, illustrating how a multi-year appellate path can leave a trial ruling in limbo well after it was issued.
“The Court of Appeals unanimously reversed our majority decision and endorsed the position that had been taken by the dissent with respect to standing.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“it is hereby ordered that the plaintiff's motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction is denied; and it is further ordered that any prayers for relief not specifically addressed herein are denied.”
“Thus, the defendants' motion to dismiss the amended complaint on the ground of laches must be denied.”
“Since plaintiff has failed to establish standing to support the first three causes of action in the amended complaint, the defendants' motion to dismiss must be granted on this ground.”
“Thus, the defendants' motion to dismiss the fourth cause of action is granted.”
“ORDERED that the Petition is DENIED; and it is further ORDERED that the stay of the arbitration proceedings is vacated.”
“ORDERED, ADJUDGED and DECREED that the Petition is DENIED and dismissed.”
“the defendants' summary judgment motion is granted in part, Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Carl Heastie are dismissed as defendants herein and the remaining requested relief is denied.”
“ORDERED, ADJUDGED and DECLARED that the Legislature violated section 1 of article XIX of the New York State Constitution ... the Concurrent Resolution ... is null and void, and the proposed amendment shall be removed from the ballot for the general election of November 5, 2024.”
“ORDERED that the defendants' motion to dismiss is DENIED.”
“the plaintiff's motion to dismiss the affirmative defenses is partially GRANTED”
“the plaintiffs motion for summary judgment is partially GRANTED ... Upon a review of the record, the Court awards partial summary judgment to the defendants on the issue of the default fee dismissing same.”
“Plaintiffs motion seeking dismissal of the 2nd cause of action is denied. ... The motion to dismiss is DENIED.”
“ORDERED that the plaintiffs motion for summary judgment is GRANTED, summary judgment is awarded to the plaintiff on the causes of action in the complaint; the defendants' affirmative defenses are dismissed, and plaintiff is awarded judgment ... ORDERED that upon a review of the record summary judgment is GRANTED to the defendants and the default fee is dismissed as an unenforceable penalty”
“ORDERED that Plaintiff's motion for a default judgment pursuant to CPLR 3215(i) is DENIED.”
“the petitioner's motion to amend the petition (motion #8) is granted in part, and denied in part ... the petitioners' proposed amended petition is accepted as filed, with the exception of the claim for relief under CPLR 7803(4)”
“The petitioners' motion for interim indemnification pursuant to N-PCL 724(c) is denied.”
“the respondents' motions for summary judgment seeking dismissal of the petitioners' claims for indemnification (motions #6 and #7) are granted”
“ORDERED that the respondents' motion to quash (motion #4) is granted”
“Appeal from an order of the Supreme Court, Monroe County (Daniel J. Doyle, J.), entered October 24, 2023. The order granted in part the motion of plaintiff for summary judgment and denied the cross-motion of defendant for summary judgment. ... the order so appealed from is unanimously modified on the law by striking from the thirteenth ordering paragraph the date of August 28, 2014, and substituting therefor the date of March 20, 2014, and as modified the order is affirmed”
“denied the cross-motion of defendant for summary judgment”
“The order denied plaintiff's motion for partial summary judgment dismissing defendant's fifth, sixth, and tenth counterclaims. ... modified on the law by granting the motion in part and dismissing the tenth counterclaim and as modified the order is affirmed”
Draft for Judge Doyle with the record in hand
Ezel grounds your drafting and research in this profile: what has persuaded Judge Doyle, and what has not, cited to the signed orders.
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