Howard Curtis Nielson Jr.
How Judge Nielson decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
When a patent-eligibility issue presented close, reasonably disputable questions at the pleading stage, the court expressly invited prompt appellate review.
“If this court’s ruling is erroneous, it would welcome reversal by the Federal Circuit.”
Procedural preferences
Self-represented parties were still expected to satisfy basic pleading requirements.
“Pro se litigants are not excused from complying with these minimal pleading demands.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“Defendants’ motion to dismiss is GRANTED. Plaintiff’s federal claims are DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE. Plaintiff’s state law claims are DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE.”
“For the foregoing reasons, Defendant’s motion to dismiss is DENIED.”
“Defendants’ motions to dismiss are accordingly GRANTED and this action is DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE.”
“For all of these reasons, summary judgment is GRANTED in favor of United and against Plaintiffs.”
“For the foregoing reasons, Ian C.’s claim for benefits is REMANDED to United for further consideration.”
“Docket Number 85, the Plaintiffs’ Motion for Attorney Fees is DENIED WITHOUT PREJUDICE.”
“For all of these reasons, the court grants summary judgment in favor of TSI on all of Plaintiff’s claims against TSI and dismisses all of Plaintiff’s claims against the Trust.”
“For the foregoing reasons, Defendant’s motion to dismiss is GRANTED.”
“For the foregoing reasons, the court declines to stay this action and instead GRANTS Defendants’ motion to dismiss.”
“Plaintiff’s motion for a preliminary injunction is DENIED. Dkt. No. 8.”
“Docket Numbers 27 and 28, Plaintiff’s motions to amend his pleadings to include claims of retaliation and ‘expedite [this] case due to retaliation’ regarding more recent allegations of inadequate medical treatment are DENIED.”
“For the foregoing reasons, Defendants’ motion for summary judgment is GRANTED.”
“In light of this disposition, Defendants’ motion to exclude the expert testimony of Kelly Shafto and Rick Miranda is denied as moot.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Median case duration in the sampled dockets: 282 days (N = 17).
Median motion-to-ruling time: 1 days (N = 8).
This is a bounded enumeration of 19 distinct cases filed in early 2022, not a career-wide caseload profile.
Put Judge Nielson's record to work
Ezel drafts and answers grounded in this exact profile: how Judge Nielson actually rules, not a generic AI guess.
Opens in Ezel Pro. Every answer is grounded in Judge Nielson's own signed orders and cites them.