Orlando Luis Garcia
How Judge Garcia rules, drawn from 17 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Garcia
Orlando Luis Garcia is a judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas. Appointed by President William J. Clinton, Judge Garcia received a commission on March 11, 1994.
Judge Garcia's practices and standing orders
Rules for cases before Judge Garcia, 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
Motions
The following procedure must be followed before any party files a Motion to Dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6) in cases where all parties are represented by counsel.
“The following procedure must be followed before any party files a Motion to Dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6) in cases where all parties are represented by counsel.”
Motions
Before filing a Motion to Dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6), counsel shall confer with opposing counsel concerning the purported deficiencies and the expected basis of the Motion.
“Before filing a Motion to Dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6), counsel shall confer with opposing counsel concerning the purported deficiencies and the expected basis of the Motion.”
Motions
Any Rule 12(b)(6) Motion filed without this Certificate of Conference will be
“Any Rule 12(b)(6) Motion filed without this Certificate of Conference will be”
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).
- Standing Order Regarding Joint or Unopposed Request to Change Deadlines ↗
- Order Regarding Procedures for the Filing, Service and Management of Highly Sensitive Documents ↗
- General Order Regarding Electronic Filing of Transcripts ↗
- Standing Order Regarding Attorney Admissions and CLE Requirements ↗
- Privacy Policy and Public Access to Electronic Files ↗
- Standing Order Regarding the Electronic Submission of Sealed Civil Documents ↗
How Judge Garcia decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
Cautions
In a store slip-and-fall case, he granted summary judgment on general-negligence and negligent-undertaking theories because the evidence concerned a floor condition rather than a contemporaneous activity. He left the premises-liability claim against the store operator for trial.
“the record evidence clearly demonstrates that a premises liability claim is Plaintiff’s potential avenue for relief in this case.”
In a state-prisoner habeas case, he rejected equitable tolling where the petitioner waited more than a year after direct review ended to file a state application and gave no specific reason for the delay. He dismissed the federal petition as untimely.
“This delay alone weighs against a finding of diligence.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“For the reasons stated in the recommendation, Plaintiff's motion for partial summary judgment (docket no. 49) is DENIED and Defendant's motion for summary judgment (docket no. 51) is GRANTED.”
“Plaintiff's motion for partial summary judgment (docket no. 49) is DENIED and Defendant's motion for summary judgment (docket no. 51) is GRANTED.”
“Defendant's motion to dismiss (Dkt. No. 5) is GRANTED and Plaintiff's claims are DISMISSED for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. This case is CLOSED.”
“Accordingly, the Court ACCEPTS the Magistrate Judge's R&R (Dkt. No. 9) and, for the reasons set forth therein, Defendant's Motion to Dismiss (Dkt. No. 7) is GRANTED and Plaintiff's claims are DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE.”
“Accordingly, the Court ACCEPTS the Magistrate Judge's R&R (Dkt. No. 76) and, for the reasons set forth therein, Defendant the City of San Antonio's Motion for Summary Judgment (Dkt. No. 42) is GRANTED”
“Defendants Devin Day and Richard Serna's Motion for Summary Judgment (Dkt. No. 62) is GRANTED”
“Plaintiff Mathias Ometu's Motions for Summary Judgment (Dkt. Nos. 47, 48, 49) are DENIED”
“Defendants Devin Day and Richard Serna's Motion to Dismiss on the Pleadings (Dkt. No. 62) is DENIED AS MOOT.”
“Accordingly, the Court ADOPTS the Magistrate Judge's R&R, and, for the reasons set forth therein, Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment (Dkt. No. 18) and the Motion for Summary Judgment filed by Plaintiff (Dkt. No. 21) are DENIED.”
“Accordingly, the Court ADOPTS Judge Bemporad's R&R and, for the reasons set forth therein, Plaintiff's Emergency Motion to Strike Removal and Recognize Continued State Court Jurisdiction Due to Fraud (Dkt. No. 17) and Plaintiff's Motion to Remand (Dkt. No. 20) are DENIED.”
“For the reasons stated in the recommendation, Defendants' Motion to Dismiss (Dkt. No. 8) is GRANTED as to Smith's claims against Guadalupe County; GRANTED as to Smith's Fourth Amendment excessive force claim against Locker; and otherwise DENIED.”
“The Court has reviewed the recommendation de novo and finds that the R&R is in all things correct and should be accepted. Accordingly, the Court ADOPTS the Magistrate Judge's R&R (Dkt. No. 25) and, for the reasons set forth therein, Defendant's Motion to Dismiss (Dkt. No. 20) is GRANTED, and Plaintiff's claims in the Second Amended Complaint are DISMISSED.”
“In all other respects, the Court ACCEPTS the Magistrate Judge's recommendation (Dkt. No. 33). For the reasons stated in the recommendation, Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment Regarding Plaintiffs' Extra-Contractual Claims (Dkt. No. 27) is DENIED IN PART as to Plaintiffs' promptness-based claims under Texas Insurance Code §§ 542.003(b)(2)-(3), 542.055-.056, 542.058(a), and 542.060(a)(3), but GRANTED as to all other claims.”
“ORDER ADOPTING REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS for 25 Report and Recommendations, Status Report Order, GRANTING IN PART AND DENIED IN PART 12 Motion to Dismiss for Failure to State a Claim filed by Sienna Marketing & Consulting Inc.,. Signed by Judge Orlando L. Garcia.”
“It is therefore ORDERED that the Magistrate Judge's recommendation (docket no. 24) is ACCEPTED and Defendant's motion to dismiss (docket no. 20) is GRANTED IN PART AND DENIED IN PART. For the reasons stated in the recommendation, Plaintiff's state law claims, her claims of disability discrimination and retaliation under the ADA and Rehabilitation Act, and her claims of hostile work environment and race discrimination under Title VII are dismissed with prejudice. Plaintiff's claims of national origin and sex discrimination and retaliation under Title VII shall remain pending.”
“For the reasons set forth above, Defendant Wal-Mart, Inc.'s Motion for Summary Judgment (docket no. 22) is GRANTED”
“and Defendant Wal-Mart Stores Texas, LLC's Motion for Partial Summary Judgment (docket no. 23) is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART. Specifically, Wal-Mart Stores Texas, LLC's motion is granted as to Plaintiff's ‘general negligence’ and ‘negligent undertaking’ claims and denied only to the extent that Defendant also requested ‘summary judgment’ as to a sub-issue regarding Plaintiff's remaining premises liability claim. Only Plaintiff's premises liability claim against Defendant Wal-Mart Stores Texas, LLC shall proceed to trial in this case.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
The fifteen reviewed dockets filed in 2021 and 2022 provide a limited view of Judge Garcia's caseload rather than a complete census.
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 | 0 | 1 |
| Mar 2025 | 0 | 2 |
| Sep 2024 | 0 | 3 |
| Mar 2024 | 0 | 4 |
| Sep 2023 | 1 | 4 |
| Mar 2023 | 0 | 6 |
| Sep 2022 | 0 | 3 |
| Mar 2022 | 0 | 3 |
| Sep 2021 | 0 | 4 |
| Mar 2021 | 0 | 3 |
| Sep 2020 | 1 | 2 |
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 Western District of Texas, not for Judge Garcia: 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 | 3,691 | 7.7 months |
| Closed with no court action | 1,171 | 5.5 months |
| Closed before pretrial | 2,115 | 7.5 months |
| Closed during or after pretrial | 366 | 14 months |
| Closed during trial | 39 | 30.6 months |
| 12 months ending | Cases closed | Median time |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 3,691 | 7.7 months |
| Sep 2024 | 3,440 | 7.8 months |
| Sep 2023 | 3,823 | 7.2 months |
| Sep 2022 | 3,633 | 8.3 months |
| Sep 2021 | 3,178 | 8 months |
| Sep 2020 | 2,990 | 6.4 months |
| Sep 2019 | 2,854 | 7.1 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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