Christina A. Bryan
How Judge Bryan rules, drawn from 16 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Bryan
Christina A. Bryan joined the Southern District of Texas as a United States Magistrate Judge in January 2018. She earned degrees from the University of Texas at Austin and Harvard Law School and clerked for Judge Homer Thornberry of the Fifth Circuit.
Judge Bryan's practices and standing orders
Rules for cases before Judge Bryan, as published on the court's website (checked October 8, 2026). Judges revise these often, so confirm the current version on the court's site before you file.
Key rules
Filing
File original documents in CM/ECF; giving them to the court or case manager does not file them.
“Counsel must file all original documents through the CM/ECF system. Handing documents to the court or Case Manager does not constitute filing of the documents.”
Discovery
Before asking for a discovery conference, confer by phone or video and file a letter of no more than three pages about the unresolved dispute.
“Only after counsel have conferred by telephone or video conference and are unable to reach agreement may any party request a conference with the court. The requesting party must file a letter of no more than three pages summarizing the dispute, the date, time and method of the parties’conference and the identity of the attendees,”
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 8, 2026).
How Judge Bryan decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In Black v. NewRez, Bryan recommended dismissing the borrower's wrongful-foreclosure claim because the pleaded sale price, about 83.75 percent of appraised value, did not show a grossly inadequate price.
“Even if Plaintiff could show defects in the foreclosure proceedings, he cannot establish the second and third elements. Plaintiff has not alleged that the property was sold for a grossly inadequate selling price. ... the third party purchaser at the foreclosure sale paid approximately 83.75% of the latest appraised value.”
Procedural preferences
In Muharib Investment Group v. Starks, Magistrate Judge Bryan recommended sua sponte remand for lack of jurisdiction and a $500 sanction after the defendants improperly removed the same case twice; the district judge adopted her recommendation.
“recommending that (i) this case be remanded to state court for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction, and (ii) Defendants be sanctioned $500.00 because this is the second time they have improperly removed this case from state court.”
Cautions
In Black v. NewRez, Bryan recommended denying leave to amend the self-represented borrower's complaint as futile after finding that he had already pleaded his best case despite notice of its deficiencies.
“leave to amend is unnecessary if plaintiffs have pled their best case after having been apprised of the deficiencies in their pleading, or if amendment would be futile. ... the Court finds it would be futile to grant leave to amend in this case.”
In an excess-insurance contract dispute, Bryan recommended dismissing claims without prejudice because the insured's loss had not yet been fixed and one insurer was not a party to the contract. She treated the plaintiffs' partial summary-judgment request as moot after recommending dismissal.
“the language of the contract itself demonstrates that Gulf Winds’ anticipatory breach claim is not ripe.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“Pending is a Memorandum and Recommendation by Magistrate Judge Christina A. Bryan, recommending that the motion by Defendant be granted. Dkt 17. ... The motion by Defendant to compel arbitration and dismiss the case is GRANTED. Dkt 8. This case is DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE in favor of arbitral proceedings.”
“She recommends that the motion for summary judgment be granted because Nesbitt has failed to raise a triable issue of fact demonstrating any current right, title, or ownership in the property after the foreclosure sale. ... The motion by Defendants Wells Fargo and Select Portfolio Servicing for summary judgment is GRANTED. Dkt 23. Summary judgment is also sua sponte granted in favor of Defendant Jelinis LLC.”
“For the reasons discussed above, the Court RECOMMENDS that Defendants' Rule 12(c) Motion for Dismissal be GRANTED, and Plaintiff's claims be DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE.”
“the Court recommends that Plaintiff's request for injunctive relief and for writ of possession be denied ... In sum, Plaintiff's Petition and Motion for a TRO should be DENIED.”
Bryan's M&R recommended remand for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction (no party motion to remand: a sua sponte jurisdictional remand of a pro se removal) plus a $500 sanction because the defendants had improperly removed the same case a second time. District Judge Charles Eskridge adopted it, overruling the defendants' objections on de novo review. This is a non-motion disposition. It shows strict enforcement of removal jurisdiction and willingness to sanction repeat improper removers.
Bryan's M&R recommended dismissing a pro se bankruptcy appeal (from an order granting relief from the automatic stay) for want of prosecution (appellant never paid the filing fee or took steps to proceed). District Judge Charles Eskridge adopted it (no objections). This is a non-motion disposition.
“the Court RECOMMENDS that Defendant's Motion to Dismiss (ECF 165) be DENIED ... Lamell's Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs' Claims be DENIED in its entirety [M&R signed Christina A. Bryan, 2024-05-15]”
“Plaintiffs' Motion to Strike (ECF 166) be DENIED as moot”
“Having reviewed the Complaint, the Court RECOMMENDS that this case be dismissed with prejudice because it is frivolous and fails to state a claim for relief. ... the Court recommends that this case be DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE and Plaintiff's Motion for Protective Order (ECF 8) be DENIED.”
“Pending is a Memorandum and Recommendation by Magistrate Judge Christina A. Bryan, recommending that two pending motions by Plaintiffs be granted, being (i) unopposed motion for final approval of class settlement and entry of final order and judgment, and (ii) motion for attorney fees, litigation expenses, and service award.”
“On March 2, 2026, Magistrate Judge Christina A. Bryan recommended that Plaintifrs moti9n for summary judgment be denied, Defendant's cross motion for summary judgment be granted, and that the Commissioner's decision be affirmed (Document No. 21).”
“Judge Bryan filed a Memorandum and Recommendation on April 2, 2026, recommending that Plaintiff’s Unopposed Motion for Attorney’s Fees (Dkt. 16) be granted in part.”
“the Court RECOMMENDS that Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss (ECF 20) be GRANTED and Plaintiff’s federal claims be DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE and his state law claimed be DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE due to lack of jurisdiction.”
“the Court recommends the EEOC’s Motion to Dismiss (14) be GRANTED and Plaintiff’s claims against the EEOC be dismissed without prejudice for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.”
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 | 1 |
| Mar 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2024 | 0 | 1 |
| Sep 2023 | 0 | 1 |
| Mar 2023 | 0 | 1 |
| Sep 2022 | 0 | 1 |
| Mar 2022 | 4 | 1 |
| Sep 2021 | 0 | 3 |
| Mar 2021 | 6 | 2 |
| Sep 2020 | 0 | 1 |
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 Southern District of Texas, not for Judge Bryan: 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 | 5,742 | 7.6 months |
| Closed with no court action | 2,442 | 6 months |
| Closed before pretrial | 2,371 | 7.4 months |
| Closed during or after pretrial | 871 | 11.4 months |
| Closed during trial | 58 | 31.6 months |
| 12 months ending | Cases closed | Median time |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 5,742 | 7.6 months |
| Sep 2024 | 5,086 | 7.5 months |
| Sep 2023 | 4,762 | 7.9 months |
| Sep 2022 | 4,595 | 8.8 months |
| Sep 2021 | 4,745 | 8.8 months |
| Sep 2020 | 5,009 | 8.1 months |
| Sep 2019 | 5,233 | 7.5 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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Ezel grounds your drafting and research in this profile: what has persuaded Judge Bryan, and what has not, cited to the signed orders.
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