Christine A. Nowak
How Judge Nowak decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
On a defendant's MSJ she will parse the Texas Insurance Code claim-by-claim rather than grant or deny wholesale: statutory bad-faith counts can fall while prompt-payment counts survive to trial. Brief each subsection independently.
“the Court recommends GRANTING summary judgment for State Farm on Plaintiff’s Chapter 541 claims ... The Court further recommends DENYING summary judgment as to Plaintiff’s prompt payment claims under §§ 542.058 and 542.060 ... and permitting such claims to proceed to trial.”
Procedural preferences
Recommends dismissal without prejudice for want of prosecution / failure to obey orders on stalled pro se dockets (Rule 41(b)).
“ORDERED that the complaint is DISMISSED without prejudice for want of prosecution and failure to obey an order of the court.”
Treats claims against a nonjural entity (e.g. a county jail/detention facility) as dismissible with prejudice, and declines to recommend leave to amend where the plaintiff is not prosecuting.
“Plaintiff’s claims against CCDF may also be dismissed with prejudice because CCDF is a nonjural entity with no capacity to be sued.”
Cautions
A time-barred federal habeas/2255 petition will be recommended denied and dismissed with prejudice, and the recommendation will be defended on de novo review when the petitioner objects without showing equitable tolling.
“ORDERED that the petition for writ of habeas corpus is DENIED and Petitioner’s case is DISMISSED with prejudice. A certificate of appealability is DENIED.”
Motion outcomes
Counted from classified signed orders only. Percentages are shown only where the sample is large enough to be meaningful; smaller samples are reported as raw counts.
| Motions to dismiss N = 2 |
Granted: 2 | counts only |
| Habeas petition N = 2 |
Denied: 1Moot / procedural: 1 | counts only |
| Default judgment N = 1 |
Denied: 1 | counts only |
| Motion for leave to amend N = 1 |
Denied: 1 | counts only |
| Summary judgment N = 1 |
Granted in part: 1 | counts only |
A "1 of 1" is one ruling, not a tendency. Treat small samples as illustrative, not predictive.
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“ORDERED that Movant’s motion for default judgment (Dkt. # 12) is DENIED.”
Prisoner suit recommended dismissed without prejudice for want of prosecution and failure to obey an Order; adopted in full. 'It is therefore ORDERED that Plaintiff’s complaint is DISMISSED without prejudice.'
Recommended dismissed without prejudice for want of prosecution (Rule 41(b)); adopted. 'ORDERED that the complaint is DISMISSED without prejudice for want of prosecution and failure to obey an order of the court.'
“ORDERED that the petition for writ of habeas corpus is DENIED and Petitioner’s case is DISMISSED with prejudice. A certificate of appealability is DENIED.”
“It is therefore ORDERED the motion to vacate, set aside, or correct sentence is DISMISSED without prejudice.”
“the Court recommends Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss [Dkt. 18] be GRANTED and Plaintiff’s claims against Defendants be DISMISSED.”
“The Court further recommends that Plaintiff Nelson R. Locke’s Corrected Motion for Leave to Amend [Dkt. 33] be DENIED.”
“the Court recommends the Motion to Dismiss be GRANTED, and Plaintiff’s claims against all Defendants be dismissed as set forth herein.”
“the Court recommends GRANTING summary judgment for State Farm on Plaintiff’s Chapter 541 claims under the Texas Insurance Code and any claims under §§ 542.055, 542.056, and 542.057 of the Texas Insurance Code. The Court further recommends DENYING summary judgment as to Plaintiff’s prompt payment claims under §§ 542.058 and 542.060 of the Texas Insurance Code and permitting such claims to proceed to trial.”