Adrienne C. Nelson
How Judge Nelson rules, drawn from 8 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
How Judge Nelson decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In insurance duty-to-defend disputes she finds no covered 'occurrence' where the only reasonable inference from the underlying complaint is intentional conduct, and applies the willful-and-malicious-acts exclusion to relieve the insurer of any duty to defend.
“the Court declines to adopt the F&R, ECF [29]. State Farm's Motion for Partial Summary Judgment, ECF [18], is GRANTED.”
In merger challenges, weighs the practical ability of a proposed divestiture buyer to replace the lost competitive intensity and gives substantial weight to the public interest in effective antitrust enforcement when unwinding a completed merger would be difficult.
“Any harms defendants experience as a result of the injunction do not overcome the strong public interest in the enforcement of antitrust law, especially given the difficulty in disentangling a premature merger.”
Procedural preferences
Conducts genuine de novo review of a magistrate judge's Findings & Recommendation on the parties' objections and will decline to adopt the F&R where her own reading of the record differs.
“the Court declines to adopt the F&R, ECF [29]. State Farm's Motion for Partial Summary Judgment, ECF [18], is GRANTED.”
When dismissing a self-represented litigant's first tested pleading, grants leave to amend unless it is absolutely clear the defects cannot be cured.
“Because this is the first motion to dismiss addressed in this case and it is not ‘absolutely clear that no amendment can cure the defect[s]’ identified herein ... the Court grants plaintiff thirty (30) days to file a second amended complaint.”
Cautions
On Eighth Amendment deliberate-indifference summary judgment she grants in part and denies in part, dismissing claims against staff not shown to be deliberately indifferent while letting adequately-supported claims proceed to trial.
“defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment, ECF [131], is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part. Plaintiff's claims against defendants Roberts and Bugher are dismissed. Plaintiff's claims against defendants Crites and Irving continue as described in this opinion.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“the Court declines to adopt the F&R, ECF [29]. State Farm's Motion for Partial Summary Judgment, ECF [18], is GRANTED.”
“Defendants' Motion for Partial Summary Judgment, ECF [16], is DENIED.”
“defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment, ECF [131], is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part. Plaintiff's claims against defendants Roberts and Bugher are dismissed. Plaintiff's claims against defendants Crites and Irving continue as described in this opinion.”
“Motion for Stay of Plaintiff's Declaratory Claim With Regard to the Wolf Lawsuit, ECF [49], and Motion for Stay of Plaintiff's Declaratory Claim on Indemnity Coverage With Regard to the Nelson Lawsuit, ECF [51], are GRANTED.”
“Plaintiff Artisan and Truckers Casualty Company's Motion for Summary Judgment, ECF [46], is DENIED with regard to the duty to defend in the Nelson Lawsuit.”
“Defendants Matthew Cady, Jeffrey James, and TJ Lathrom's Motion for Partial Summary Judgment, ECF [62], is GRANTED with regard to the duty to defend in the Nelson Lawsuit and DENIED with regard to attorney fees.”
“For the reasons stated herein, Savants' motion to dismiss, ECF 8, is DENIED.”
“Accordingly, plaintiffs' motion for preliminary injunction is GRANTED. The proposed merger between defendants Kroger Company and Albertsons Companies, Inc. is enjoined pending the outcome of the administrative proceedings before the Federal Trade Commission.”
“For the reasons stated herein, defendants’ request for judicial notice, ECF 67, is GRANTED and defendants’ motion to dismiss, ECF 66, is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part.”
“For the reasons discussed herein, defendant’s motion to dismiss, ECF 19, is GRANTED.”
“Landmark’s motion for summary judgment, ECF 47, is DENIED.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
- The 2023-2024 case sample includes False Claims Act, consumer-credit, wage-and-hour, prisoner mandamus, public-records and immigration, insurance, employment, and criminal matters.
- Because Nelson joined the court in February 2023, many sampled cases remain pending; the completed matters in this slice generally ended quickly.
- Reported durations measure the life of the case, not the time taken to decide a motion.
Draft for Judge Nelson with the record in hand
Ezel grounds your drafting and research in this profile: what has persuaded Judge Nelson, and what has not, cited to the signed orders.
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