Brooke Cotter Wells
How Judge Wells rules, drawn from 5 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
Judge Wells no longer sits on this court. This profile is preserved as a historical record of how they ruled here.
About Judge Wells
Brooke Cotter Wells served as a United States Magistrate Judge for the District of Utah from 2003 until June 2019. She was the first woman to hold that position in the district and previously worked as a criminal defense attorney and an Assistant United States Attorney.
How Judge Wells decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
Procedural preferences
In Rasmussen v. Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, Wells recommended granting both defendants' dismissal motions in one report. District Judge Nuffer later adopted it.
“Wells Fargo’s Motion to Dismiss be GRANTED. The undersigned FURTHER RECOMMENDS that Security National’s Motion to Dismiss be GRANTED.”
In Webb v. Kier Property Management, Wells recommended dismissing the complaint with prejudice after finding that further amendment would be futile.
“Further amendment would be futile because Mr. Webb cannot plead facts that would support a cause of action for failure to review video footage (that may or may not exist) and without a constitutional violation there can be no municipal liability.”
Cautions
In Lake v. Colvin, Wells recommended affirming the denial of disability benefits. District Judge Parrish later adopted the recommendation.
“the undersigned HEREBY RECOMMENDS that the Commissioner’s decision in this case be AFFIRMED.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“the Court RECOMMENDS Defendants’ motion be GRANTED.”
“Wells Fargo’s Motion to Dismiss be GRANTED.”
“Security National’s Motion to Dismiss be GRANTED.”
“The Court HEREBY RECOMMENDS the District Court GRANT Summary Judgment in favor of Defendant on all claims, in both the Complaint and the Counterclaim.”
“Plaintiff’s Motion to Appoint Counsel 29 and Motion for a Protective Order 30 are deemed MOOT.”
“the undersigned HEREBY RECOMMENDS that the Commissioner’s decision in this case be AFFIRMED.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Sitting by the parties' consent under 28 U.S.C. Section 636(c), Wells served as the final judge of record on a modest civil docket alongside a larger volume of referral work and criminal duty. The sampled consent cases skew toward short-lived ADA Title III access suits, product-liability removals, trademark, and Social Security appeals. Composition and durations only; not a grant rate.
Pending matters in the official report
Judge Wells was last listed in the Civil Justice Reform Act report as of September 30, 2024.
| 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 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.
A historical record
Judge Wells no longer sits on this court. This profile stays available as a record of how they ruled here. If you're preparing for a matter, start from the court's current bench.