Cynthia M. Rufe
How Judge Rufe rules, drawn from 21 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Rufe
Cynthia M. Rufe received her commission as a judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in May 2002 and assumed senior status in December 2021. She previously served on the Bucks County Court of Common Pleas and earned degrees from Adelphi University and the State University of New York at Buffalo Law School.
Judge Rufe's practices and standing orders
Rules for cases before Judge Rufe, 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
Use chambers contacts for scheduling and other nonsubstantive matters; file substantive requests on the docket.
“Judge Rufe permits communications with Chambers by telephone, email, or facsimile regarding scheduling and other non-substantive matters. All other issues must be addressed by an appropriate motion or other document filed on the docket.”
Filing
Do not send paper courtesy copies unless the judge specifically requests them.
“Unless specifically requested to do so, counsel should not send paper courtesy copies.”
Motions
When the scheduling order uses the alternative summary judgment method, the initial motion is limited to five double spaced pages.
“Under the alternative method, Motions for Summary Judgment under Rule 56 shall not exceed five double-spaced pages.”
Motions
For other civil motions, supporting and response memoranda are limited to 15 double spaced pages; replies and surreplies need no leave and are limited to 10.
“Memoranda in support of such motions and responses shall not exceed 15 double-spaced pages. Reply and Sur-Reply memoranda may be filed without leave of Court and shall not exceed 10 double-spaced pages.”
Motions
File criminal pretrial motions at least 30 days before trial.
“All pretrial motions must be filed no later than thirty days in advance of the scheduled trial date, and except in rare circumstances, will be heard on a date before the scheduled trial date.”
Motions
A criminal defendant needs leave to join a codefendant’s pretrial motion.
“Defendants may not join in co- defendants’ pretrial motions without leave of the Court.”
Discovery
Discuss discovery disputes fully with opposing counsel before seeking a telephone conference.
“Counsel must exhaustively address all discovery disputes with opposing counsel before requesting Judge Rufe’s assistance.”
Conferences
File the Rule 26(f) report at least seven days before the Rule 16 conference.
“The parties must file a Rule 26(f) report at least seven days before the Rule 16 conference.”
Sealing
Move on the public docket for leave to seal specific civil material; file a narrowly redacted public version within 30 days after sealing.
“Within 30 days of the filing under seal (or as otherwise ordered), file thoughtfully and narrowly redacted, public versions of the same documents on the docket.”
Trial
File a criminal trial continuance motion at least 14 days before trial; a letter is insufficient.
“Any request for a continuance must be filed no later than 14 days in advance of the scheduled trial date. Requests for a continuance must be filed as motions stating the reasons for the request.”
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).
- Standing Order on Procedure for Case Opening ↗
- Standing Order on Highly Sensitive Documents ↗
- Standing Order on Access and Management of Sealed Documents ↗
- Standing Order on Filing Procedures in Alien Detainee Cases ↗
- Second Amended Standing Order on Guilty Pleas and Sentencing ↗
- Standing Order on Electronic Document Submission for Unrepresented Litigants ↗
- Standing Procedural Order for Cases Seeking Social Security Review ↗
- Superseding Standing Order on Procedural Matters in Pro Se Civil and Habeas Cases ↗
- Standing Order on Electronic Access to Civil and Criminal Transcripts ↗
How Judge Rufe decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
Improper service meant an earlier default judgment was void.
“because Plaintiff failed to effectuate proper service upon Hospital Defendants, the Chester County Court lacked personal jurisdiction over Hospital Defendants, and the default judgment must be set aside as void.”
In the antitrust MDL, factual support for defendants’ specific participation distinguished surviving complaints from dismissed ones.
“The above three complaints thus fail to describe any anti-competitive conspiratorial behavior by Epic.”
Procedural preferences
The court adjusted class settlement fees and service awards after reviewing the actual recovery and counsel’s work.
“The lodestar yields a multiplier of 1.537. Given counsel’s performance in this action, the lodestar amount of $504,675 is a more appropriate award of attorneys’ fees and expenses.”
Cautions
A complaint challenging consequences of a state court ruling could not proceed under the jurisdictional doctrine applied there.
“The four requirements of the Rooker- Feldman doctrine are therefore satisfied and Plaintiff’s claims will be dismissed.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“the Motion is GRANTED. Plaintiff’s Third Amended Complaint is DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE.”
“ARM Group Inc.’s Motion to Dismiss [Doc. No. 27] is GRANTED.”
“D.C. Gohn Associates, Inc.’s Motion to Dismiss [Doc. No. 29] is GRANTED.”
“Leon E. Wyntermyer, Inc.’s Motion for Summary Judgment [Doc. No. 41] is GRANTED.”
“The Motion for Join filed by Nadeem A. Paroya [Doc. No. 26] is GRANTED.”
“The Motion to Dismiss filed by Nadeem A. Paroya [Doc. No. 24] is DENIED.”
“The Motion to Dismiss filed by County of Chester, Pocopson Home [Doc. No. 25] is GRANTED IN PART AND DENIED IN PART.”
“Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment [Doc. No. 30] is GRANTED.”
“Plaintiff’s Motion for Conditional Certification of his collective action [Doc. No. 28] is DISMISSED AS MOOT.”
“the Motion for Final Approval [Doc. No. 122] is GRANTED as follows:”
“Objectors’ Motions for Limited Discovery on Behalf of Objectors Ryan Melville, Michelle Mullaney, Robert Mullaney, and the Proposed Melville Class [Doc. Nos. 96 & 111] are DISMISSED as moot.”
“Defendant’s Motion [Doc. No. 18] is GRANTED.”
“the Motion is GRANTED in part and DISMISSED without prejudice in part as follows:”
“the Motion is GRANTED and the default judgment is SET ASIDE as void.”
“Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss [Doc. No. 4] is GRANTED as follows: 1. Counts I and V are DISMISSED with prejudice. 2. Count III is DISMISSED with prejudice with regard to Plaintiff’s fiduciary duty claim and demand for attorney’s fees. The breach of contract claim asserted in Count III is not dismissed.”
“Brown’s ‘Motion to Amend Complaint’ [Doc. No. 13] is DENIED WITHOUT PREJUDICE”
“Brown’s ‘Motion to Preserve Evidence’ [Doc. No. 11] and ‘Motion for Reconsideration’ [Doc. No. 12] are DISMISSED as moot.”
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 | 0 |
| Social Security appeals pending more than six months | 0 |
| Civil cases pending more than three years | 29 |
| Report | Motions over six months | Cases over three years |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | 0 | 29 |
| Sep 2025 | 0 | 35 |
| Mar 2025 | 0 | 33 |
| Sep 2024 | 0 | 33 |
| Mar 2024 | 0 | 38 |
| Sep 2023 | 0 | 30 |
| Mar 2023 | 0 | 24 |
| Sep 2022 | 0 | 14 |
| Mar 2022 | 0 | 7 |
| Sep 2021 | 0 | 6 |
| Mar 2021 | 0 | 3 |
| Sep 2020 | 0 | 1 |
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 Eastern District of Pennsylvania, not for Judge Rufe: 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 | 5,730 | 5.1 months |
| Closed with no court action | 1,952 | 3.2 months |
| Closed before pretrial | 2,834 | 4.7 months |
| Closed during or after pretrial | 898 | 10 months |
| Closed during trial | 46 | 17.8 months |
| 12 months ending | Cases closed | Median time |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 5,730 | 5.1 months |
| Sep 2024 | 6,200 | 4.6 months |
| Sep 2023 | 6,595 | 7 months |
| Sep 2022 | 5,221 | 6.6 months |
| Sep 2021 | 5,245 | 6.5 months |
| Sep 2020 | 4,686 | 5.7 months |
| Sep 2019 | 5,374 | 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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