M. Page Kelley
How Judge Kelley decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
Pro se civil-rights plaintiffs get liberal construction at the pleading stage: Kelley found a pro se prisoner's 1983 due-process and equal-protection claims cleared the minimal Rule 12(b)(6) bar and rejected both a favorable-termination-rule and a quasi-judicial-immunity bar to suit.
“Neither the Favorable Termination Rule nor a theory of quasi-judicial immunity bars Plaintiff from pursuing this lawsuit under § 1983.”
Procedural preferences
Kelley prefers to deny a 12(b)(6) motion WITHOUT PREJUDICE and have an antecedent threshold issue (here, choice-of-law) briefed first, rather than dismiss on an undeveloped record. Frame a dispositive argument that turns on choice-of-law as a request for sequenced briefing, not outright dismissal.
“the court recommends that Huntsman's Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss (#6) be denied, without prejudice to the parties raising choice-of-law”
Cautions
On mandamus/agency-delay suits, once the agency provides the relief sought (here, the EAD was issued in late December 2022), Kelley will recommend dismissing the now-moot portion of the claim -- pursuing the mooted relief is futile.
“allowing defendant's motion to dismiss in part”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“Plaintiff has met the minimal pleading requirements to survive dismissal of his due process and equal protection claims for failure to state a claim under Rule 12(b)(6). Accordingly, I recommend that Defendants' motion to dismiss be denied.”
“I RECOMMEND that the Motion of Defendant Susan B. Whittaker for Summary Judgment on Plaintiff's ‘Complaint is a Civil Action’ (#78) be GRANTED.”
“I FURTHER RECOMMEND that Plaintiffs' Motion for Partial Summary Judgment (#73) be DENIED.”
“the court recommends that defendant's Motion for a More Definite Statement and to Dismiss Plaintiff's Age Discrimination Claim, see #9 ... be denied.”
“that plaintiff's Motion for Sanctions, see #13, be denied.”
“This Court accepted and adopted Magistrate Judge Kelley's Report and Recommendation in January, 2023, thus allowing defendant's motion to dismiss in part.”
“the court recommends that Huntsman's Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss (#6) be denied, without prejudice to the parties raising choice-of-law”
“For all of the foregoing reasons, Defendants' motion for summary judgment is DENIED in its entirety.”
“For all of the reasons stated, I RECOMMEND that Defendant Turco's Motion to Dismiss (#39) be ALLOWED.”
“For the reasons stated, I RECOMMEND that Defendants Thomas Turco, Bruce Gelb, Steven Silva and Matthew Valade's Motion To Dismiss (#121) be ALLOWED.”
“On March 3, 2023, the court dismissed on summary judgment defendants Lucheng Li's and Maoliang Fang's counterclaims for breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing (Counterclaim II) and for violation of Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 93A (Counterclaim III).”
“The court ... allowed defendants' counterclaim for breach of contract (Counterclaim I) ... to proceed to trial and denied defendants' cross-motion for summary judgment on all of plaintiff Skinner, Inc.'s claims.”
“For the reasons stated above, defendants' motion to reconsider the court's order on the parties' cross-motions for summary judgment (#124) is denied.”
“For all of the reasons stated, I RECOMMEND that Defendants Bank of New York Mellon and Specialized Loan Servicing, LLC's Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings (#14) be ALLOWED as to Count I.”
“The court granted summary judgment in favor of the Union on Count III ... also granted summary judgment in favor of the Union on Counts V and VI ... granted summary judgment in favor of the School on Count IV ... [and] granted summary judgment in favor of a fourth defendant, Suffolk Construction Co. [while five counts] are proceeding to trial.”
“For the reasons above, #90 is denied, except that the School may renew the ERISA preemption argument, if appropriate.”
“After a review of the objections, I adopt the report and recommendation and dismiss the claims with prejudice except the Title VII claim in count II which will be dismissed unless plaintiff, who is pro se, amends it to meet the deficiencies outlined by the magistrate judge within 30 days.”
“I RECOMMEND that Defendants Massachusetts Trial Court and the Boston Housing Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts's Motion to Strike Plaintiff's Proposed Second Amended Complaint and for Dismissal of the Remaining Title VII Claim (#57) be ALLOWED.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Median case duration in the sampled dockets: 369 days (N = 4).
Median motion-to-ruling time: 221 days (N = 4).
Put Judge Kelley's record to work
Ezel drafts and answers grounded in this exact profile: how Judge Kelley actually rules, not a generic AI guess.
Opens in Ezel Pro. Every answer is grounded in Judge Kelley's own signed orders and cites them.