Dustin B. Pead
How Judge Pead rules, drawn from 25 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Pead
Dustin B. Pead has served as a United States magistrate judge for the District of Utah since August 2012. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Utah and a law degree from the University of Miami School of Law. Before taking the bench, he served as a U.S. immigration judge.
Judge Pead's practices and standing orders
Rules for cases before Judge Pead, 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
Filing
Email editable Word proposed orders directly to chambers as well as attaching them to the motion.
“In addition to attaching a copy of the order to the motion, a copy of all proposed orders must be directly e-mailed to chambers at the following address: [email protected] (link sends e-mail). Proposed orders e-mailed to chambers must be editable and in Word format.”
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).
How Judge Pead decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
Procedural preferences
In Larsen v. Larsen, he recommended dismissal without prejudice for failure to comply with court orders and warned that failure to object could waive review; the district court adopted the recommendation.
“Chief Magistrate Judge Dustin B. Pead issued a Report and Recommendation that the court dismiss the plaintiff's action without prejudice for failure to comply with the court's orders. Judge Pead notified the plaintiff that a failure to file a timely objection to the recommendation could waive any objections to it.”
Cautions
In Joshua W. v. O'Malley, he recommended affirming the Commissioner's denial of benefits; the district court adopted his recommendation.
“recommending that the court affirm the Commissioner's decision in this case”
In a securities case, Judge Pead denied a request to compel a more detailed guide to data already produced in a usable form. He found the defense was seeking a road map the producing party did not have to provide.
“the court finds Defendants are seeking a road map of the data from the SEC, which is not required here.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“Magistrate Judge Pead's Report and Recommendation ... recommending that the court affirm the ALJ's initial decision and the Commissioner's final decision denying Pacheco's application for disability insurance benefits and social security income. ... adopts the Report and Recommendation in its entirety. The ALJ's initial decision and the Commissioner's final decision are AFFIRMED.”
“United States Magistrate Judge Dustin B. Pead issued a Report & Recommendation (R&R) recommending that the court affirm the Commissioner's decision in this case. ... The court has reviewed the matter and the R&R de novo ... the court adopts the R&R (ECF No. 16) in its entirety. The decision of the Commissioner is affirmed.”
“The Report and Recommendation issued by United States Magistrate Judge Dustin B. Pead on June 13, 2022 recommends that the district judge dismiss Plaintiff's action without prejudice. ... the Report and Recommendation is ADOPTED. The action is DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE.”
“United States Magistrate Judge Dustin B. Pead issued a Report and Recommendation (R&R) recommending that the court deny Plaintiff David Sutherland Libuser's Motion to Proceed in forma pauperis (ECF No. 2) and order Mr. Libuser to pay the full filing fee ... the court adopts the R&R (ECF No. 7) in its entirety. ... The Plaintiff's Motion for Leave to Proceed in forma pauperis (ECF No. 2) is DENIED.”
“Chief Magistrate Judge Dustin B. Pead issued a Report and Recommendation that the court dismiss the plaintiff's action without prejudice for failure to comply with the court's orders. ... the court ... ADOPTS IN FULL the Report and Recommendation. ... The court DISMISSES this action without prejudice.”
“the State Defendants' motion to dismiss is GRANTED (ECF No. 33). Plaintiff's Complaint is dismissed with prejudice.”
“The court GRANTS the motion to compel arbitration brought by American Express National Bank and American Express Company.”
“The court GRANTS the motion to dismiss the claims against Anre Williams, Jennifer Fell, and Mia Figueroa for lack of personal jurisdiction.”
“it recommends granting Defendants' motions to dismiss, as Plaintiffs have not alleged any error in the tribal criminal action.”
“denies Plaintiff's Motion for Temporary Restraining Order [ECF No. 3].”
“Plaintiff's Motion for Review of Agency Action is DENIED, and the Commissioner's decision is AFFIRMED.”
“Plaintiff's Objections are OVERRULED, the Report and Recommendation is ADOPTED in its entirety, and Plaintiff's Motion is DENIED.”
“Plaintiff's Motion is DENIED and the Report and Recommendation is ADOPTED in full.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
- Longtime District of Utah magistrate (since August 2012; Chief Magistrate Judge until ~January 2026), sitting in both Salt Lake City and the Southern Region (St. George).
- Two streams: (1) directly-assigned / 636(c) CONSENT civil matters he decides himself, prominently Social Security disability appeals (often resolved after telephonic oral argument); and (2) 636(b) referral matters on which he issues Reports and Recommendations reviewed by the district judges.
- Composition only; not a grant rate.
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 | 1 |
| 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 | 1 | 0 |
| Sep 2025 | 0 | 1 |
| Mar 2025 | 0 | 1 |
| Sep 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2023 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2023 | 0 | 1 |
| 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 United States District Court for the District of Utah, not for Judge Pead: 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 | 1,120 | 8.5 months |
| Closed with no court action | 343 | 7 months |
| Closed before pretrial | 764 | 9 months |
| Closed during or after pretrial | 3 | not reported |
| Closed during trial | 10 | 59 months |
| 12 months ending | Cases closed | Median time |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 1,120 | 8.5 months |
| Sep 2024 | 1,141 | 9.3 months |
| Sep 2023 | 1,035 | 10.6 months |
| Sep 2022 | 1,092 | 12.3 months |
| Sep 2021 | 1,128 | 12.7 months |
| Sep 2020 | 951 | 10.4 months |
| Sep 2019 | 1,085 | 9.7 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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