Richard Paul Conaboy
Judge Conaboy no longer hears cases. This profile is preserved as a historical record of how they ruled.
How Judge Conaboy decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
Conaboy treated challenges to a qualified expert's inputs as matters for cross-examination and weight when the methodology itself was reliable.
“Mere weakness in the factual basis of an opinion bears on the weight of the evidence, not its admissibility.”
Procedural preferences
He construed removal requirements strictly and required the removing party to establish a concrete basis for federal jurisdiction or equitable waiver.
“Because 28 U.S.C. § 1446 is to be construed strictly against removal and all doubts resolved in favor of remand, we conclude Defendants have not met their burden of demonstrating sufficient culpability on the part of Plaintiffs to warrant waiver of the one-year limitation period.”
Cautions
He sanctioned a party that unilaterally destroyed potentially relevant records after receiving notice of anticipated litigation.
“The record in this case and the relevant authority demonstrates that Defendants should have taken reasonable precautions in preserving the actual driver’s logs for the entire period from September 3, 2005, through October 4, 2005.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“The Petitioner’s § 2255 Motion to Vacate, Set Aside, or Correct his Sentence is DENIED.”
“Plaintiffs’ Motion to Remand Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1447(c) (Doc. 3) is GRANTED;”
“The Petitioner’s habeas corpus motion pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241 (Doc. 1) is denied.”
“this Court will grant the Plaintiff’s Motion for Summary Judgment.”
“we shall deny Hudson Scrap’s motion for summary judgment.”
“Plaintiffs’ Motion for Spoliation Charge (Doc. 123) is granted;”
“Petitioner’s Habeas Corpus Petition Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241 (Doc. 1) is DENIED;”
“In summary the court finds that appointment of counsel is proper.”
“The Defendant’s Motion to Withdraw Plea of Guilty (Doc. No. 51) is GRANTED.”
“For the reasons discussed above, Defendants’ Motion in Limine to Preclude the Testimony of Dr. Ziejewski (Doc. 119) is denied.”
“The petition for writ of habeas corpus is DENIED.”
Conaboy declined discretionary declaratory-judgment jurisdiction over unsettled Pennsylvania contract issues and ordered: “Plaintiffs action filed pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 2201 and 2202 is dismissed without prejudice.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Median case duration in the sampled dockets: 236 days (N = 10).
The twenty enumerated early-2000 cases included six habeas petitions, three contract matters, three prisoner civil-rights cases, two prison-condition cases, two wage-law cases, and one each involving employment civil rights, environmental law, disability benefits, and product liability. All twenty were terminated. This narrow cohort does not establish Conaboy's tenure-wide caseload mix.
A historical record
Judge Conaboy no longer hears cases. This profile stays available as a record of how they ruled. If you're preparing for a matter, start from the court's current bench.