Barbara Brandriff Crabb
How Judge Crabb rules, drawn from 20 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Crabb
Barbara Brandriff Crabb is a judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin. Appointed by President Jimmy Carter, Judge Crabb received a commission on November 2, 1979. Judge Crabb assumed senior status on March 24, 2010.
Judge Crabb's practices and standing orders
The court's website lists no individual practices or standing orders of Judge Crabb's own (checked October 9, 2026), so the court's local rules and general orders are the place to look (court page ↗).
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).
- In Re: Standing Order Governing the Use and Submission of Electronic Evidence (Administrative Order 434) ↗
- In Re: Procedures for the Filing, Service and Management of Highly Sensitive Documents (Administrative Order 453) ↗
- Amended General Rules for Filing Documents Under Seal (Administrative Order 460) ↗
How Judge Crabb decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
Crabb found a sparse patent complaint sufficient when it provided fair notice of the asserted infringement theories.
“Although plaintiffs’ complaint is sparse, it meets the requirements for notice pleading of patent infringement.”
Crabb rejected a zoning damages claim where the record could not support a due-process deprivation.
“No reasonable jury could find that plaintiff was denied due process in his zoning dispute and, as a consequence, none could find that he was damaged.”
Procedural preferences
Crabb transfers disputes when another district is clearly more convenient and Wisconsin has no meaningful connection.
“when venue would be clearly more convenient in another district for at least one party and none of the parties have significant ties to Wisconsin, the practice of this court is to transfer.”
Crabb allowed joinder to cure a patent-standing problem instead of immediately ending the claim.
“Plaintiff EMD Crop Bioscience Canada Inc. is GRANTED leave to join patent co-owner McGill University as a necessary party under Fed.R.Civ.P. 19 to satisfy its standing requirement.”
Cautions
Crabb does not treat good-faith negotiation as requiring a party to surrender terms it regards as essential.
“The duty to apply one’s best efforts and negotiate in good faith does not require that parties concede particular provisions they believe to be essential to the bargain.”
Crabb granted qualified immunity where precedent had not clearly established a duty to provide inmate-led religious services without an outside leader.
“the law is not clearly established that the free exercise clause requires prison officials to hold religious services for prisoners if no qualified nonprisoners are available to lead the service.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“The motion for summary judgment filed by defendants Paul Sumnicht, Belinda Schrubbe and Cynthia Thorpe, dkt. #11, is GRANTED with respect to plaintiff Leon Irby’s claims under the Eighth Amendment and the Americans with Disabilities Act and his medical negligence claim against defendants Schrubbe and Thorpe.”
“defendant Fritz Murray’s motion in limine is DENIED”
“the government’s motion in limine is GRANTED”
“The motion for summary judgment, dkt. # 32, filed by defendants deBoer, Inc., deBoer Transportation Inc., deBoer Capital Associates Inc. and Ronald DeBoer is GRANTED.”
“The motion for partial summary judgment, dkt. # 38, filed by plaintiffs Peter Denil and Gerald Nardella is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART.”
“Defendants’ motion to exclude expert testimony, dkt. # 82, is DENIED as unnecessary.”
“The motion to lift the stay as to count I of the complaint filed by plaintiffs National Pork Producers Council, Wisconsin Pork Association, Dairy Business Association, Inc., Babcock Genetics, Inc. and Maize-n-Bacon, Inc, dkt. # 53, is GRANTED.”
“Defendant Lisa P. Jackson’s motion to dismiss, dkt. #49, is GRANTED as to count I of plaintiffs’ complaint because that claim is not justiciable.”
“Defendant Becker Underwood Inc.’s motion to dismiss, dkt. # 9, is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART.”
“Plaintiff EMD Crop Bioscience Canada Inc. is GRANTED leave to join patent co-owner McGill University as a necessary party under Fed.R.Civ.P. 19 to satisfy its standing requirement.”
“plaintiffs’ claim for infringement of United States Patent No. 5,101,478 is GRANTED.”
“the motion to dismiss filed by defendants St. Croix County and Wisconsin Municipal Mutual Insurance Company is DENIED”
“defendants’ motion for summary judgment is GRANTED.”
“defendant Jon Holt’s motion for vacation of his sentence pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2255 is DENIED as untimely.”
“defendant’s motion to proceed informa pauperis and his motion for appointment of counsel are DENIED as moot.”
“Plaintiff Midrad, LLC’s motion to disregard new arguments raised in defendant Town of Middleton’s reply brief, dkt. # 12, is DENIED as unnecessary.”
“Defendant Town of Middleton’s motion to dismiss, dkt. # 4, is DENIED.”
“Plaintiff Chicago Title Insurance Company’s motion for clarification of the April 6, 2009 order granting partial summary judgment, dkt. # 58, is GRANTED.”
“defendant Captain Michael Kasten’s motion for summary judgment, dkt. # 10, is GRANTED.”
“defendant Heim-erl & Lammers, LLC’s motion to transfer this case to the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota, dkt. # 10, is GRANTED.”
“Defendant’s motion to dismiss the case for lack of personal jurisdiction or improper venue is DENIED as moot.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
The twenty returned cases were all terminated and spanned prisoner civil rights, Social Security, habeas and post-conviction review, contracts, employment, consumer credit, forfeiture, foreclosure, ERISA, patent, naturalization, and other statutory matters.
Pending matters in the official report
Judge Crabb was last listed in the Civil Justice Reform Act report as of September 30, 2022.
| 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 2022 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2022 | 0 | 1 |
| Sep 2021 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2021 | 0 | 1 |
| 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 Western District of Wisconsin, not for Judge Crabb: 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 | 545 | 6.9 months |
| Closed with no court action | 188 | 2.8 months |
| Closed before pretrial | 169 | 6 months |
| Closed during or after pretrial | 174 | 13.4 months |
| Closed during trial | 14 | 26.5 months |
| 12 months ending | Cases closed | Median time |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 545 | 6.9 months |
| Sep 2024 | 526 | 6.6 months |
| Sep 2023 | 614 | 8.9 months |
| Sep 2022 | 633 | 10 months |
| Sep 2021 | 675 | 8.4 months |
| Sep 2020 | 707 | 7.4 months |
| Sep 2019 | 657 | 7.8 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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