David L. Horan
How Judge Horan rules, drawn from 23 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Horan
David L. Horan became a United States Magistrate Judge in the Dallas Division of the Northern District of Texas in November 2012. He earned a law degree from Yale Law School and previously clerked for federal district and appellate judges before practicing law in Dallas.
Judge Horan's practices and standing orders
Rules for cases before Judge Horan, 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
Contacting chambers
File an ECF notice or request for urgent information about a pending motion instead of calling chambers.
“please electronically file an appropriate notice or request for relief via the ECF System.”
Filing
No judge's copy is required for electronically filed documents.
“Judge Horan does not require a judge's copy for documents filed by electronic means.”
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).
- Special Order 19-2: Service, Access, and Management of Sealed Documents ↗
- Miscellaneous Order 61-1: Restrictions on Electronic Filing of Highly Sensitive Documents ↗
- Miscellaneous Order 61: Electronic Case Filing ↗
- Special Order 19-1: Second Amended Order Regarding Public Access to Certain Documents ↗
How Judge Horan decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
Procedural preferences
In Virtuoso v. Web Deals Direct, he recommended denying the defendants' combined partial dismissal and more-definite-statement motion; the district court adopted his recommendation over their objections.
“the Findings, Conclusions, and Recommendation of the Magistrate Judge are correct and they are accepted ... the Court OVERRULES Defendants' Objections [Dkt. No. 38] and DENIES Defendants' Motion to Partially Dismiss Plaintiff's First Amended Complaint and Motion for a More Definite Statement [Dkt. No. 27].”
Cautions
In Roe v. Johnson County, he recommended summary judgment for an officer on qualified immunity, finding that the plaintiff had not identified a sufficiently similar case establishing the alleged constitutional violation; the district court adopted his recommendation.
“On July 13, 2021, United States Magistrate Judge David L. Horan entered findings of fact and conclusions and law recommending that the Court grant Defendant David Blankenship's motion for summary judgment on qualified immunity ... the Court GRANTS Defendant David Blankenship's motion for summary judgment on qualified immunity [Dkt. No. 279]”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“On July 13, 2021, United States Magistrate Judge David L. Horan entered findings of fact and conclusions and law recommending that the Court grant Defendant David Blankenship's motion for summary judgment on qualified immunity ... the Court GRANTS Defendant David Blankenship's motion for summary judgment on qualified immunity [Dkt. No. 279]”
“the Court GRANTS IN PART Plaintiff's motion for reconsideration [Dkt. No. 302] to the extent that the Court VACATES its prior dismissal of Plaintiff's claims against Defendants Jacob Aguilar and Ivan Alvarado ... and now DISMISSES those claims WITH PREJUDICE because Plaintiff has not shown that Bivens ... should be extended”
“Judge Horan recommended dismissal with prejudice, apparently because the complaint had been amended once but also because amendment could not cure the defect as a matter of law. ... The Court grants the Motion to Dismiss, denies as futile the Plaintiff's Opposed Motion for Leave to File Amended Complaint”
“the Findings, Conclusions, and Recommendation of the Magistrate Judge are correct and they are accepted ... the Court OVERRULES Defendants' Objections [Dkt. No. 38] and DENIES Defendants' Motion to Partially Dismiss Plaintiff's First Amended Complaint and Motion for a More Definite Statement [Dkt. No. 27].”
“DENIES Defendants' Motion to Partially Dismiss Plaintiff's First Amended Complaint and Motion for a More Definite Statement [Dkt. No. 27].”
Horan's FCR arose from screening under 28 U.S.C. 636(b) and a standing order of reference from District Judge Sam A. Lindsay. The pro se employment-discrimination plaintiff failed to file complete verified responses to the court's screening questionnaire by the extended and expressly warned deadline. Horan recommended sua sponte dismissal without prejudice under Rule 41(b) and concluded lesser sanctions would be futile, carefully reciting the Long and Nottingham standard that dismissal with prejudice requires a clear record of delay or contumacious conduct. The recommendation illustrates his pro se screening practice.
“The Court should grant Defendant Victoria C. Kundert a/k/a VikkiVerse’s motion to dismiss [Dkt. No. 53] to the extent that the Court should dismiss the claims against her without prejudice for lack of personal jurisdiction.”
“and enter judgment dismissing Chapman’s claims under federal law and the Texas Constitution with prejudice and dismissing any remaining claims under Texas common law without prejudice to Chapman’s ability to pursue those claims in state court.”
“The Court should grant Defendant Deutsch Bank National Trust Company’s Motion for Partial Summary Judgment [Dkt.l No. 17] and dismiss with prejudice MRK2 Brokerage, LLC’s claim for equitable redemption.”
“The Court should deny the motion for a preliminary injunction, dismiss all claims arising under federal law with prejudice, and relinquish jurisdiction over the remaining state law claim, dismissing that claim without prejudice, to allow Plaintiff Joseph Stanley Trotter IV to pursue it in a state forum if he so chooses.”
“The Court DENIES Carter’s motion for the following reasons.”
“The Court should grant the motions to dismiss [Dkt. Nos. 4 & 9], deny the motion for leave to amend [Dkt. No. 40], and, unless Plaintiff Tariq Farooq shows through timely objections a basis to amend to allege a plausible claim, the Court should dismiss this lawsuit with prejudice.”
“The Court therefore DENIES LQF’s motion to amend the scheduling order [Dkt. No. 22].”
“the Court grants in part and denies in part Defendant H&R Block Enterprises LLC’s Motion for Sanctions Pursuant to Rule 37(b)(2)(A) for Failure to Comply with Court Order [Dkt. No. 38].”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
The available caseload description is drawn from observed referrals rather than an enumerated sample because referred cases remain assigned to district judges.
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 | 0 |
| Report | Motions over six months | Cases over three years |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2023 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2023 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2022 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2022 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2021 | 0 | 0 |
| 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 U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, not for Judge Horan: 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 | 4,103 | 5.9 months |
| Closed with no court action | 829 | 4 months |
| Closed before pretrial | 3,228 | 6.3 months |
| Closed during or after pretrial | 11 | 16.1 months |
| Closed during trial | 35 | 19.3 months |
| 12 months ending | Cases closed | Median time |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 4,103 | 5.9 months |
| Sep 2024 | 3,648 | 5.6 months |
| Sep 2023 | 3,808 | 6.5 months |
| Sep 2022 | 8,698 | 56 months |
| Sep 2021 | 6,094 | 19.4 months |
| Sep 2020 | 6,294 | 13.3 months |
| Sep 2019 | 3,367 | 6.9 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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