David John Novak
How Judge Novak decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
On a 12(b)(6) motion he prunes the complaint count by count rather than dismissing or sustaining it wholesale -- in the Capital One MDL he dismissed four specific counts and let all others proceed. Frame a motion to dismiss (or an opposition) claim-by-claim; expect a surgical result, not all-or-nothing.
“The Court hereby GRANTS IN PART and DENIES IN PART Defendants' Motion to Dismiss. (ECF No. 29.) Counts XVI, XX, XXII and XXIII of the Consolidated Amended Complaint ... are hereby DISMISSED. This matter shall proceed on all other Counts ...”
Procedural preferences
He prefers to decide unsettled questions of Virginia law himself rather than certify them to the Supreme Court of Virginia -- denying Capital One's certification motion. (Contrast with some E.D. Va. colleagues who certify novel state-law questions.) Do not expect certification to be an easy off-ramp in his courtroom.
“The Court hereby DENIES Defendants' Motion to Certify Question to the Supreme Court of Virginia (ECF No.53).”
Aggressive, hands-on complex-case management: in the Capital One MDL he appointed a Rule 53 Special Master for discovery over the plaintiffs' objection, set strict page limits, ordered Lexecon-waiver positions, and imposed a tight pretrial schedule within weeks of the MDL transfer. Come prepared for fast, closely-managed proceedings.
“The Court hereby DIRECTS the Special Master to begin the execution of his duties as set forth above, and to ‘proceed with all reasonable diligence.’ Fed. R. Civ. P. 53(b)(2).”
Cautions
All six classified motions across five orders come from one high-profile matter, the Capital One 360 Savings multidistrict litigation, so the sample does not establish a cross-docket grant rate or merits tendency. Published opinions by Novak were not available, and most sampled terminated Richmond Division cases lacked docket entries. His broader pro se, prisoner, FCRA, Social Security, and federal criminal work is therefore not represented.
“The Court hereby GRANTS IN PART and DENIES IN PART Defendants' Motion to Dismiss.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“The Court hereby GRANTS IN PART and DENIES IN PART Defendants' Motion to Dismiss. (ECF No. 29.) Counts XVI, XX, XXII and XXIII of the Consolidated Amended Complaint, (ECF No. 10), are hereby DISMISSED. This matter shall proceed on all other Counts asserted in the Consolidated Amended Complaint.”
“The Court hereby DENIES Defendant's Motion to Strike (ECF No. 31).”
“The Court hereby DENIES Defendants' Motion to Certify Question to the Supreme Court of Virginia (ECF No.53).”
“The Court hereby GRANTS Plaintiffs' Unopposed Motion for Appointment of Lead Counsel (ECF No. 4) on the terms set out above.”
“the Court hereby DENIES AS MOOT Defendants' Motion to Dismiss the Second Amended Complaint in Savett v. Capital One, N.A., No. 1:23cv890 (ECF No. 32).”
“the Court hereby GRANTS Capital One's Motion (ECF No. 27). Capital One shall file an Answer no later than August 12. 2024.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Median case duration in the sampled dockets: 79 days (N = 12).
His docket is heavy on pro se / prisoner / FCRA / Social Security matters plus a federal criminal docket; the case-number suffix is (DJN). Because cases can be reassigned, the signer is confirmed on each order rather than assumed from the currently-assigned judge.
Put Judge Novak's record to work
Ezel drafts and answers grounded in this exact profile: how Judge Novak actually rules, not a generic AI guess.
Opens in Ezel Pro. Every answer is grounded in Judge Novak's own signed orders and cites them.