Mariana E. Bauza-Almonte
How Judge Bauza-Almonte decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In a Miller Act suit against a payment-bond surety, distinguishes claims recoverable under the Act (the value of labor and materials the subcontractor actually furnished) from claims that are not (lost profits, or a straight breach-of-contract theory against the surety, which is not a party to the underlying subcontract).
“Gecon can proceed against Great Midwest 'for the value of labor and materials furnished.' ... Gecon cannot seek to recover under the Miller Act any loss profits from Great Midwest or damages resulting from Visionary's breach of the Subcontract.”
Applies Puerto Rico's 'fair and true report' privilege for media coverage of an official proceeding broadcast-by-broadcast, not case-wide: a report that stuck to relating what participants in a police search told the station is privileged, but earlier broadcasts that editorialized and included unverified allegations before the official proceeding took place are not.
“the Court finds here that based on the facts included in the Complaint TeleOnce did not sensationalize the September 1 search and related the execution of the search warrant as it was witnessed and described by those actively involved.”
Procedural preferences
Before recommending the harshest Rule 41(b) sanction -- dismissal with prejudice for failure to prosecute -- looks for a documented, personal warning to the plaintiff and a real deadline that went unheeded, not just an attorney's withdrawal.
“the Court granted the motion to withdraw and ordered Plaintiff Smith to appear with new counsel by November 10, 2025, and warned her that '[f]ailure to comply may result in dismissal for failure to prosecute.' ... Despite more than 90 days having passed from the Court's order, Smith has failed to appear.”
Cautions
Her view of who is entitled to absolute prosecutorial immunity for SUPERVISORY conduct (as opposed to direct courtroom advocacy) has been the narrower of the two readings in at least one case: she found a former Secretary of Justice not immune for a failure-to-train/failure-to-supervise theory because he was not personally acting as a courtroom advocate; the district court applied Van De Kamp v. Goldstein to extend immunity to that supervisory theory and reversed this part of her recommendation on de novo review.
“The Court, however, disagrees with the Magistrate Judge's determination that former Secretary of Justice Emmanuelli's actions are not protected by absolute prosecutorial immunity. ... the Court finds the allegations raised against former Secretary Emmanuelli ... fall within this protected ambit as well and therefore REJECTS Magistrate Judge Bauza-Almonte's conclusion that Emmanuelli was not immune from prosecution.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“I recommend the motion to dismiss be GRANTED in part and DENIED in part. ... the Court agrees with the Commonwealth codefendants that Erickson's claim for injunctive relief should be dismissed under the Younger abstention doctrine, that defendant Fernandez-Vera is entitled to absolute prosecutorial immunity, and that Counts Five and Seven should be dismissed, but otherwise disagrees with the instant motion to dismiss.”
“Magistrate Judge Bauza-Almonte recommended in her R&R that TeleOnce's Motion to Dismiss be GRANTED IN PART AND DENIED IN PART ... the conspiracy count be dismissed with prejudice ... and, as to the defamation cause of action regarding the different reports TeleOnce aired, the Fair and True Reporting privilege was applicable to the reports aired on September 1, 2023, but not to the August 22, 2023 broadcast ... or to the subsequent August 23, 2023 broadcast.”
“For the reasons set forth below, I recommend the motion to dismiss with prejudice be GRANTED. ... Smith's clear disregard of the Court's order combined with her apparent lack of interest in prosecuting her case necessitate the imposition of the ultimate sanction. ... dismissal with prejudice is warranted.”
“I recommend that Great Midwest's motion to dismiss be granted in part and denied in part. ... the Court recommends the Motion to Dismiss be DENIED in regard to the Miller Act claim. ... the Court recommends that Great Midwest's motion to dismiss the breach of contract claim be GRANTED. ... the Court recommends that Great Midwest's motion to dismiss the equitable estoppel and unjust enrichment claim be GRANTED.”
“The Magistrate Judge issued her R&R recommending that the preliminary injunction be denied, primarily finding that the court lacks jurisdiction under the Norris-LaGuardia Act ('NLG'). Alternatively, the Magistrate Judge held that HMP failed to demonstrate it met the ... requirements for injunctive relief. ... the removal restrictions could be severed from the remainder of the Act. ... the Court hereby ADOPTS the R&R at ECF No. 34 and DENIES plaintiff's request for a preliminary injunction.”
“For the reasons set forth below, I recommend the motion to dismiss the indictment be GRANTED. ... Méndez was able to show that the order was fundamentally unfair in that possession of narcotics under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 21a-27(a) was not a removeable offense for which he should have been deported in 2006 ... For the aforementioned reasons, I recommend that Méndez's motion to dismiss the indictment be GRANTED.”
“Pending before the Court is United States Magistrate Judge Mariana E. Bauzá-Almonte's Report and Recommendation (“R&R”) issued on October 23, 2025, recommending the denial of plaintiff WE, LLC's (“plaintiff”) motion for a preliminary injunction. ... For all of the above reasons, the Court ADOPTS the Magistrate Judge's R&R at ECF No. 69. Consequently, plaintiff's objections to the R&R at ECF No. 72 are OVERRULED and the request for a preliminary injunction at ECF No. 37 and accompanying supplemental motion at ECF No. 41 are DENIED.”
“For the reasons set forth below, the Defendants' Motion to Dismiss is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part. ... Therefore, Lausell's motion to dismiss Mas's First Amendment claim against her in her individual capacity is GRANTED. ... Rivera's request for dismissal is therefore DENIED. ... Roldan has failed to show he is entitled to qualified immunity and his request for dismissal is DENIED. ... Lausell's and Rivera's motion to dismiss this claim is GRANTED, and Roldan's is DENIED WITHOUT PREJUDICE. ... Mas is precluded from bringing suit under Article 1536.”
“For the reasons set forth below, the Defendants' Motion to Dismiss is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part. ... Therefore, Lausell's motion to dismiss Acevedo's First Amendment claim against her in her individual capacity is GRANTED. ... Roldan's request for dismissal is therefore DENIED. ... Roldan has failed to show he is entitled to qualified immunity and his request for dismissal is DENIED. ... Lausell's motion to dismiss this claim is GRANTED, and Roldan's is DENIED. ... Acevedo is precluded from bringing suit under Article 1536.”
“For the reasons set forth below, MAPFRE's Motion to Dismiss is DENIED. ... In the end, regardless of which analytical approach should govern, the Court finds that MAPFRE did not meet its burden of conclusively establishing it is entitled to dismissal. ... For the foregoing reasons, MAPFRE's motion to dismiss is DENIED.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Bauza-Almonte was sworn in as a magistrate judge in May 2025. The observed caseload includes a large volume of routine criminal magistrate-duty matters, such as search and arrest warrants, initial appearances, and detention hearings, that do not produce adversarial motion outcomes; a referred civil docket on which district judges send her dispositive motions for a Report and Recommendation; and a small consent docket under 28 U.S.C. Section 636(c) covering Social Security appeals and general civil matters. Only one sampled consent case had reached a final ruling by the evidence cutoff.
Put Judge Bauza-Almonte's record to work
Ezel drafts and answers grounded in this exact profile: how Judge Bauza-Almonte actually rules, not a generic AI guess.
Opens in Ezel Pro. Every answer is grounded in Judge Bauza-Almonte's own signed orders and cites them.