Kelly H. Rankin

How Judge Rankin rules, drawn from 23 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.

Court
United States District Court for the District of Wyoming
Position
district
Appointed by
Joe Biden (Democratic)
Commissioned
2024-03-12
ABA rating
Well Qualified
Education
University of Wyoming (B.S., 1990); University of Wyoming College of Law (J.D., 1994)
Signed orders read
23

How Judge Rankin decides

Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.

What persuades

On a public employee's procedural-due-process claim, the judge distinguished disciplinary procedures from a substantive promise of continued employment and enforced repeated at-will disclaimers where the agreement was unambiguous.

“It is clear that the District meant to provide its employees with certain procedural protections while not altering their at-will status.”

Signed rulings

A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.

Ready v. Natrona County School District No. 1
2:23-cv-00071-KHR · 2024-09-18
Summary judgment (plaintiff) Denied

“IT IS ORDERED Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment on the Entitlement to Procedural Due Process and Motion for Summary Judgment on the Adequacy of Due Process are DENIED.”

Summary judgment (defendant) Granted

“IT IS FURTHER ORDERED Defendant's Motion for Partial Summary Judgment is GRANTED. Claims 3 and 4 are dismissed.”

Lewis v. Triangle Cross Ranch LLC
2:23-cv-00202-KHR · 2024-07-11
Motions to dismiss (defendant) Granted in part

“The Court grants MMC Defendants' Motion to Dismiss as to the perpetrator liability claims for forced labor and trafficking and denies it as to the beneficiary liability claims under those provisions.”

Motions to dismiss (defendant) Granted

“The Court grants SOLT's Motion to Dismiss in its entirety. The Amended Complaint simply does not contain factual content such that SOLT could be held liable under any relevant theory.”

Frank v. Gray
2:20-cv-00138-KHR · 2024-07-09
Motion to amend (plaintiff) Granted

“NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS ORDERED Plaintiff's Motion to Supplement Verified Complaint is GRANTED.”

Wright v. Devon Energy Production Company LP
2:22-cv-00213 · 2024-04-08
Class certification (plaintiff) Granted

“ORDER GRANTING PRELIMINARY APPROVAL OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT, CERTIFYING THE CLASS FOR SETTLEMENT PURPOSES, APPROVING FORM AND MANNER OF NOTICE, AND SETTING DATE FOR FINAL FAIRNESS HEARING”

True Oil LLC v. Bureau of Land Management
2:22-cv-00188 · 2023-10-30
Petition for review agency action (petitioner) Denied

“For the above stated reasons, the Court finds the BLM acted within its scope of authority and declares the BLM, as designated by Congress, is permitted to regulate subsurface activity in protection of federal minerals as it did here.”

United States Securities and Exchange Commission v. AmeriStar LLC
2:24-cv-00169 · 2024-09-09
Motion for temporary restraining order (plaintiff) Granted

“NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS ORDERED Plaintiff's Emergency Motion for a Rule 65(b)(1) Temporary Restraining Order, Asset Freeze, and Other Emergency Relief [ECF No. 5] is GRANTED.”

United States Securities and Exchange Commission v. AmeriStar LLC
2:24-cv-00169 · 2025-02-18
Default judgment (plaintiff) Granted

“Plaintiff's Motion for Default Judgment as to Liability Against Defendant AmeriStar, LLC [35] is GRANTED. Default judgment is entered finding that AmeriStar violated Sections 5(a) and (c) and Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 [15 U.S.C. §§ 77e(a) and (c); 77q(a)], and Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act of 1934 [15 U.S.C. § 78j(b)], and Rule 10b-5 thereunder [17 C.F.R. § 240.10b-5].”

Sander v. Social Security Administration Commissioner
2:24-cv-00068 · 2024-09-27
Motion for attorney fees (plaintiff) Granted

“IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that Plaintiff is awarded attorney fees in the amount of $8,000.00 under the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA), 28 U.S.C. § 2412, as the prevailing party herein, and court costs of $405.00, which is to be paid from the Department of Justice's Judgment Fund, 28 U.S.C. § 2412, not agency funds.”

Smith v. Albany County School District No 1 Board of Trustees
2:23-cv-00159 · 2025-05-27
Motions to dismiss (defendant) Granted

“The Court entered an Order granting Defendants' Motion to Dismiss on May 27, 2025. [ECF No. 41]. Accordingly, it is therefore ORDRED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that this matter is DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE.”

Omsberg v. Hydrite Chemical Co
2:23-cv-00208 · 2024-08-12
Summary judgment (defendant) Granted

“After reviewing the relevant law and the facts of this case, the Court finds Defendant's Motion should be granted as the FSMA provides an administrative remedy, barring a claim for retaliatory discharge under Wyoming law. Plaintiff's claim for retaliatory discharge is dismissed with prejudice.”

Omsberg v. Hydrite Chemical Co
2:23-cv-00208 · 2024-10-17
Summary judgment (defendant) Granted

“ORDER by the District Judge Kelly H Rankin granting Defendant's Second Motion for Partial Summary Judgment. IT IS ORDERED that Plaintiff's claim for breach of implied employment contract is DISMISSED with prejudice.”

Nissen v. Contango Resources LLC
2:23-cv-00031 · 2024-05-09
Summary judgment (plaintiff) Denied

“ORDER by the District Judge Kelly H Rankin denying Motion for Partial Summary Judgment. Plaintiff's Motion is denied because there are disputed material facts.”

Caseload & timing

From public federal docket records for this judge.

Ready filed 2023-04-21, terminated 2024-10-29 = 557 days. Most other directly-assigned cases sampled are pending 2024-2026 filings, so a full terminated-case duration distribution is not yet computable.

Draft for Judge Rankin with the record in hand

Ezel grounds your drafting and research in this profile: what has persuaded Judge Rankin, and what has not, cited to the signed orders.

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