David Nuffer
How Judge Nuffer decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In First Amendment speech and forum cases he will grant a preliminary injunction against a government defendant whose denial of a permit or venue burdens protected expression, ordering the denial reversed.
“the Motion for Preliminary Injunction is GRANTED and a Preliminary Injunction is ORDERED ... The City is ORDERED to reverse its denial of Plaintiffs' Application ... The City is ENJOINED from enforcing the advertising prohibitions ... [and] from enforcing the Moratorium ordinance.”
He grants Rule 23 class certification where the challenged practice applies uniformly to a defined group, as in a class of detainees denied any ability-to-pay inquiry before bail.
“IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the following class is certified with Plaintiffs as class representatives and Plaintiffs' counsel as class counsel. Persons detained in the county jails of Beaver, Carbon, Iron, and Utah from the date of the filing of the Complaint to the resolution of this case; who were assigned secured financial conditions of release; which secured financial conditions of release were assigned without presentation of information of the person's ability to pay; and the persons remained in custody of the county jail and were found indigent.”
Procedural preferences
He enforces scheduling-order deadlines strictly: a dispositive motion filed after the cutoff without leave is denied as untimely regardless of its merits.
“Because Deseret Mutual's Motion for Partial Summary Judgment is untimely under the scheduling order governing this case, the Motion is DENIED. ... deliberate inaction ... is insufficient to establish good cause to warrant an amendment of the Amended Scheduling Order's dispositive motion deadline.”
Where a served defendant never appears and the amount is capable of calculation he grants default judgment for the plaintiff.
“IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the Motion for Default Judgment is GRANTED. Because the defendants do not contest the amount and because the amount can be made certain by computation, the judgment is entered in the following amount without further hearing: Judgment is entered in favor of BMO and against Defendants in the amount of $108,712.10.”
Cautions
A preliminary-injunction or TRO motion that fails to address the required injunction factors is denied; he holds movants, including pro se litigants, to that showing.
“1. The Motion for Preliminary Relief Order to U.S. Treasury is DENIED;”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“the Motion for Preliminary Injunction is GRANTED and a Preliminary Injunction is ORDERED ... The City is ORDERED to reverse its denial of Plaintiffs' Application ... The City is ENJOINED from enforcing the advertising prohibitions ... [and] from enforcing the Moratorium ordinance.”
“Defendants Jared Carlson, Eric DeMille, and Hurricane City's Rule 12(b)(6) Motion to Dismiss is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part. The Motion is DENIED as to the First, Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Causes of Action ... The Motion is GRANTED as to the Second Cause of Action: The Blackmores' Excessive Force Claim ... is dismissed with prejudice because the Officers are entitled to qualified immunity.”
“IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that TransAsia's Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings is GRANTED. ... TransAsia shall prepare and submit the form of a judgment recognizing and enforcing the Award dated April 11, 2013 ... in the full $117,967.34 amount of the Award.”
“IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that EcoNova's Motion for Summary Judgment is DENIED.”
“Because Deseret Mutual's Motion for Partial Summary Judgment is untimely under the scheduling order governing this case, the Motion is DENIED. ... deliberate inaction ... is insufficient to establish good cause to warrant an amendment of the Amended Scheduling Order's dispositive motion deadline.”
“After considering the relevant case law, the arguments addressed by the parties at the hearing, and the memoranda submitted, the court GRANTS the motion to dismiss Shields for lack of personal jurisdiction, but DENIES the motion to dismiss Miranda.”
“IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that this case is REMANDED to the Third Judicial District Court for the State of Utah.”
“IT IS ORDERED that: (1) Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment is DENIED.. (Docket Entry # 69.)”
“IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the following class is certified with Plaintiffs as class representatives and Plaintiffs' counsel as class counsel. Persons detained in the county jails of Beaver, Carbon, Iron, and Utah from the date of the filing of the Complaint to the resolution of this case; who were assigned secured financial conditions of release; which secured financial conditions of release were assigned without presentation of information of the person's ability to pay; and the persons remained in custody of the county jail and were found indigent.”
“IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the Motion is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part, as it relates to the suggested briefing schedule, and the deadlines for further briefing are as follows: 1. Defendant will file an opening brief on or before April 25, 2025, and 2. Plaintiff will file a response brief on or before May 23, 2025.”
“Therefore, Defendants fail to establish good cause to set aside their default, and their Motions to Set Aside Default are DENIED.”
“Thus, IT IS ORDERED that this action is DISMISSED with prejudice for failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted. See 28 U.S.C.S. Section 1915(e)(2)(B)(ii) (2024).”
“THEREFORE, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Mr. Cabibi's Motion is DENIED in part as to his request for immediate release. However, Mr. Cabibi's Motion is GRANTED in part as to his request for a reduction in his sentence. Mr. Cabibi's 240-month term of incarceration is reduced by 21 months and 8 days to account for his time in custody from his initial appearance through his sentencing in this case.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Median case duration in the sampled dockets: 330 days (N = 8).
Median motion-to-ruling time: 187 days (N = 5).
Judge Nuffer has served in the St. George division since 2012 and took senior status in 2022 while continuing to rule. The sampled docket includes post-conviction motions, Federal Tort Claims Act and prisoner civil-rights cases, Social Security appeals, insurance and conversion disputes, personal injury, and employment claims. Earlier merits matters also include First Amendment, police-liability, and arbitration-award enforcement disputes. This describes case mix rather than the frequency of any outcome.
Put Judge Nuffer's record to work
Ezel drafts and answers grounded in this exact profile: how Judge Nuffer actually rules, not a generic AI guess.
Opens in Ezel Pro. Every answer is grounded in Judge Nuffer's own signed orders and cites them.