Walter Meheula Heen
Judge Heen no longer hears cases. This profile is preserved as a historical record of how they ruled.
How Judge Heen decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
He treated a documented factual dispute over employment terms as enough to defeat the pilots’ own summary-judgment motion.
“The documents, affidavits and depositions clearly indicate that this is a genuine issue of material fact.”
For fee eligibility, he focused on whether the claimant actually obtained the relief sought on the merits.
“the test of whether a person is a prevailing party within the meaning of § 1988 is whether he essentially succeeds in obtaining the relief he seeks in his claim on the merits.”
Procedural preferences
He framed labor-injunction authority around whether the underlying dispute was arbitrable.
“The fundamental question involved is whether or not the nature of the letter is an arbitrable question.”
Cautions
He cautioned that civil-rights fee rules should not reward unnecessary expansion of marginal disputes.
“An award of attorney’s fees in a civil rights action must not be such as to encourage the overpressing of marginal claims.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“ORDER DENYING MOTION FOR PRELIMINARY AND PERMANENT INJUNCTION”
“ORDER PARTIALLY GRANTING MOTION FOR ATTORNEYS’ FEES”
“ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT AND GRANTING DEFENDANTS’ MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT”
“ORDER DENYING MOTION FOR ATTORNEY’S FEES”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
The four reviewed decisions do not establish the distribution of Heen’s brief federal caseload.
A historical record
Judge Heen no longer hears cases. This profile stays available as a record of how they ruled. If you're preparing for a matter, start from the court's current bench.