Camille L. Velez-Rive
How Judge Velez-Rive rules, drawn from 25 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Velez-Rive
Camille Lizette Vélez-Rivé is a judge of the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico. Appointed by President Joseph R. Biden, Judge Vélez-Rivé received a commission on December 9, 2022.
Judge Velez-Rive's practices and standing orders
Rules for cases before Judge Velez-Rive, as published on the court's website (checked October 9, 2026). Judges revise these often, so confirm the current version on the court's site before you file.
Key rules
Other
Judge Vélez-Rivé disqualifies herself when the persons or entities listed in her amended order appear as counsel or parties.
“The undersigned permanently disqualifies herself in all cases in which the”
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 9, 2026).
- General Standing Order - Revocation Proceedings ↗
- General Standing Order in re: Change of Plea Hearing ↗
- General Standing Order in re: Procedures for Initial Appearances ↗
- Standing Order In Re: Appropriate Attire ↗
- Standing Order In Re: Access to Presentence Reports Pursuant to Standing Order 11: Request for Copies ↗
- Standing Order In Re: Storage and Management of Sealed and Restricted Documents: New Guidelines ↗
How Judge Velez-Rive decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In United States v. Thobias, Vélez-Rivé denied dismissal of wire-fraud and money-laundering charges after accepting the fraudulent-inducement theory and rejecting the claim that wire fraud required economic loss.
“the Court agrees with the Government that wire fraud does not require economic loss, that the indictment does not present a right to control theory but rather a fraudulent-inducement theory and that it does not need to prove a duty to disclose”
Procedural preferences
In Matos Lugo v. Sociedad Española, Vélez-Rivé stated the Local Rule 56 standard for supported and controverted facts before denying the defendants’ summary-judgment motion because the plaintiff’s expert evidence created triable issues.
“Facts which are properly supported 'shall be deemed admitted unless properly controverted' and the Court is free to ignore such facts that are not properly supported”
In Velez v. Mayorkas, Vélez-Rivé dismissed the case on a ground that disposed of it entirely and did not reach the other arguments raised by the defendant.
“The Court does not reach the other arguments raised by Secretary Mayorkas because the analysis herein disposes of this case in its entirety”
In Saurabh v. EB5 Affiliate Network, Vélez-Rivé enforced the parties’ Delaware forum-selection clauses and transferred the investor dispute there under 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a).
“The parties specifically chose to litigate in Delaware and to have their claims heard under Delaware law, to the exclusion of all others.”
Cautions
In Berkey International, LLC v. Environmental Protection Agency, she limited the evidence for agency review to the administrative record absent a strong showing of bad faith. The order addressed the evidentiary scope of a pending preliminary-injunction request.
“Supplementation of an administrative record is the exception, not the rule, so Plaintiff must establish that supplementation is appropriate and make a strong showing that the EPA acted in bad faith”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“the Municipality's Motion to Dismiss is GRANTED and all claims against it are DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE”
“Delgado-Carmona's Motion to Dismiss the Indictment is DENIED”
“Plaintiff's 'Motion to Dismiss Counterclaim' (Docket No. 21) is GRANTED and Defendant's Counterclaim (Docket No. 15) is DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE”
“co-Defendant Dr. Soto's 'Motion for Partial Summary Judgment' is GRANTED. (Docket No. 104) and Co-Plaintiff Francisco Morales Cruz' claims are DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE”
“Plaintiff's 'Motion from Relief from Order at ECF No. 106' is DENIED”
“the Court GRANTS Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment (Docket No. 132)”
“the 'Motion for Summary Judgment' filed by co-Defendants Dr. Merced and the Puerto Rico Medical Defense Insurance Company is DENIED”
An evidentiary ruling ancillary to a still-pending preliminary-injunction request, limiting the agency-review record to the administrative record absent a strong showing of bad faith. It addressed the scope of evidence rather than deciding the preliminary-injunction request or another dispositive motion.
“DDP and GEMCO's 'Motion to Dismiss' (Docket Nos. 27 and 32) are GRANTED and the causes of action filed against them ... are DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE”
“Insulet's 'Motion for Partial Dismissal' (Docket No. 29) as to Mercado is GRANTED and Mercado's causes of action against Insulet are DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE of being refiled in the appropriate forum”
“Insulet's 'Motion for Partial Dismissal' (Docket No. 30) of certain claims as to Meta Med ... are DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE”
“'Defendant's Motion to Dismiss Counts One Through Four for Failure to State an Offense Pursuant to FED. R. CRIM. P. 12(b)(3)(B)(v)' is DENIED”
“Defendant Mulero's 'Motion to Dismiss or, in the Alternative, to Transfer Case' (Docket No. 6) is GRANTED ... this case is DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE”
“Nilo's 'Motion for Injunctive Relief' is DENIED. (Docket No. 2)”
“Balchem's Motion to Dismiss is GRANTED in its entirety and all claims filed by Plaintiff against Balchem are DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE”
“Steri-Tech's Motion to Dismiss is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART (Docket No. 40) ... The claims against Steri-Tech for negligence and private nuisance remain alive”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
The caseload mix reflects a general district docket with a steady Social Security appellate component and pro se filings alongside typical commercial, tort, and criminal litigation.
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 | 2 |
| Report | Motions over six months | Cases over three years |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | 0 | 2 |
| Sep 2025 | 6 | 3 |
| Mar 2025 | 0 | 7 |
| Sep 2024 | 0 | 8 |
| Mar 2024 | 0 | 6 |
| Sep 2023 | 0 | 5 |
| Mar 2023 | 0 | 8 |
| Sep 2022 | 0 | 2 |
| Mar 2022 | 0 | 1 |
| Sep 2021 | 0 | 2 |
| Mar 2021 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2020 | 0 | 0 |
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 District of Puerto Rico, not for Judge Velez-Rive: 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 | 584 | 13.9 months |
| Closed with no court action | 84 | 7.6 months |
| Closed before pretrial | 470 | 14.1 months |
| Closed during or after pretrial | 13 | 37.1 months |
| Closed during trial | 17 | 37.2 months |
| 12 months ending | Cases closed | Median time |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 584 | 13.9 months |
| Sep 2024 | 706 | 13.6 months |
| Sep 2023 | 778 | 17.6 months |
| Sep 2022 | 725 | 19 months |
| Sep 2021 | 818 | 17.1 months |
| Sep 2020 | 862 | 13.9 months |
| Sep 2019 | 1,249 | 16.8 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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