Clay D. Land
How Judge Land decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
Land required concrete evidence before applying bad-faith equitable relief from the removal deadline.
“Best Buy pointed to no evidence that Public Service acted in bad faith by concealing the true amount in controversy during the five years this action was pending in the state court.”
He admitted specialized testimony when the expert used the same diagnostic method employed in clinical practice.
“the Court is satisfied that Radtke, an epilepsy specialist, evaluated Mrs. Bullock’s behavior using the same methodology he would have used if she were one of his patients.”
Procedural preferences
Land distinguished plausibility review from an early prediction that the plaintiff will probably lose on the evidence.
“Finding the Twombly/Iqbal urge irresistible, many lawyers fail to appreciate the distinction between determining whether a claim for relief is ‘plausibly stated,’ the inquiry required by Twombly/Iqbal, and divining whether actual proof of that claim is ‘improbable,’ a feat impossible for a mere mortal, even a federal judge.”
He did not permit a party to add a new claim through summary-judgment briefing.
“a plaintiff is not permitted to avoid summary judgment by attempting to amend a complaint in response to a summary judgment motion.”
Cautions
Land enforced a prompt-notice insurance condition when the record showed no reasonable explanation for a six-month delay.
“The present factual record does not disclose any reasonable excuse for waiting over six months to notify State Farm of the alleged theft loss.”
He treated the jury right as sufficiently fundamental to excuse an honest procedural mistake under the court’s discretion.
“This Court likewise finds it so fundamental that it should not be forfeited based solely upon an honest mistake by counsel.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“Therefore, Best Buy’s attempted removal of this action over one year after it was commenced was not-proper, and Public Service’s motion to remand (ECF No. 8) is granted.”
“For the reasons explained in this Order, State Farm’s Motion for Summary Judgment (ECF No. 13) is granted.”
“Accordingly, Cureton’s motion for leave and to reopen discovery is denied.”
“For the reasons explained in this Order, Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment (ECF No. 26) is granted, and Plaintiffs Motion for Summary Judgment (ECF No. 22) is denied.”
“Defendants also submitted a Motion to Dismiss (ECF No. 28). That Motion is now moot.”
“For the reasons set forth above, the Court grants Plaintiffs Motion to Strike Defendant’s Bill of Costs (Doc. 187) and orders that each party bear its own costs.”
“For the reasons set forth above, the Court grants Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss (Doc. 13) as to Plaintiffs CFAA claim. The Court declines to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over Plaintiffs state law claims, and those claims are dismissed without prejudice.”
“As discussed above, Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment (ECF No. 14) is granted.”
“For the reasons stated in this Order, Defendant Tidwell’s Motion to Dismiss (ECF No. 25) is denied.”
“Accordingly, the motions for summary judgment are denied.”
“For these reasons, the Government’s Motion for Reconsideration is DENIED.”
“For the foregoing reasons, the Court denies Plaintiffs Motion for Summary Judgment and grants Defendants’ Motions for Summary Judgment, finding that under the present circumstances Colony has a duty to defend the underlying action.”
“Accordingly, the Court adopts the Report and Recommendation of the Magistrate Judge and makes it the order of this Court.”
“Accordingly, Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment (ECF No. 39) is granted, and Plaintiffs Motion for Summary Judgment (ECF No. 44) is denied.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
The sampled cases included habeas, civil-rights, employment, consumer, product-liability, motor-vehicle, and Social Security matters. Retained timelines ranged from empty shells to short dispositive histories.
Put Judge Land's record to work
Ezel drafts and answers grounded in this exact profile: how Judge Land actually rules, not a generic AI guess.
Opens in Ezel Pro. Every answer is grounded in Judge Land's own signed orders and cites them.