Robert M. Levy
How Judge Levy decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
On referred FLSA/NYLL wage settlements he conducts Cheeks fairness review and recommends approval where the settlement amount and the attorney-fee allocation are reasonable.
“Judge Levy found that the settlement agreement ‘is the product of arms-length negotiations and satisfies the criteria in Cheeks v. Freeport Pancake House, 796 F.3d 199 (2d Cir. 2015) and Wolinsky v. Scholastic [Inc.], 900 F. Supp. 2d 332, 335 (S.D.N.Y. 2012).’ Accordingly, Judge Levy recommended that the Court approve the settlement.”
Procedural preferences
On motions for default judgment he recommends denial without prejudice where the movant has not satisfied the procedural prerequisites (e.g. proper service or the required showings), declining to reward a defective record.
“Due to these procedural deficiencies, I respectfully recommend that plaintiff's motion for default judgment be denied without prejudice.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“the plaintiff's motion for default judgment is denied, and this case is dismissed.”
“Judge Levy found that the settlement agreement ‘is the product of arms-length negotiations and satisfies the criteria in Cheeks v. Freeport Pancake House, 796 F.3d 199 (2d Cir. 2015) and Wolinsky v. Scholastic [Inc.], 900 F. Supp. 2d 332, 335 (S.D.N.Y. 2012).’ Accordingly, Judge Levy recommended that the Court approve the settlement.”
“a Report and Recommendation (‘Report’) issued by Magistrate Judge Robert M. Levy on September 8, 2020 recommending that Defendant Bernard Augustine's motion to dismiss be denied. ... Based on this review, the Court adopts the Report in its entirety.”
“the Court adopted in part the report and recommendation of Magistrate Judge Robert M. Levy as to Defendants' motion to dismiss the Complaint pursuant to Rules 37 and 41(b) ... The Court agreed with Judge Levy's conclusion that Plaintiff engaged in witness tampering, but declined to dismiss the Complaint as a sanction against Plaintiff.”
“Because the pleading at issue on the instant motion for a default judgment arguably states a claim, I am sustaining plaintiffs' objection to a Report and Recommendation that would deny their motion for a default judgment under RICO. ... The Court adopts that portion of the R&R that recommended judgment for breach of contract in the amount of $500,000 plus interest, and rejects that portion recommending against judgment on the RICO claims.”
“The court also GRANTS Plaintiff's motion to appoint a receiver/referee and appoints Ian Lagowitz as receiver/referee.”
“the court GRANTS Plaintiffs motion for default judgment as to defendant 1738 East 4th Street LLC and awards damages of $1,622,908.14 from the proceeds of the sale of the Property. ... Plaintiffs motion for default judgment as to non-mortgagor defendants Elie Sabbagh and ECB is DENIED.”
“Magistrate Judge Robert M. Levy's Report & Recommendation (‘R&R’), dated August 9, 2016, recommending that this Court deny Defendant's motion to dismiss this action for lack of prosecution. For the following reasons, the court ADOPTS Magistrate Judge Levy's R&R in its entirety.”
“it is hereby ORDERED that defendants' motions to dismiss the complaint be granted. ... It is further ordered that all of Stora's pending motions are denied.”
“It is further ordered that all of Stora's pending motions are denied.”
“For the reasons set forth above, I respectfully recommend that the motion be granted, and the Minor User Plaintiffs' claims be dismissed with prejudice, in accordance with the stipulation of voluntary dismissal.”
“The Court adopts the R&R's recommendations that the default judgment against Defendant be vacated and that any restraints on Defendant's bank accounts or other assets be lifted. ... the Court declines to adopt the R&R's recommendation that dismissal of the claims against Defendant be with prejudice”
“Due to these procedural deficiencies, I respectfully recommend that plaintiff's motion for default judgment be denied without prejudice.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Levy's groundable workload is a large docket of Fair Labor Standards Act wage-and-hour cases on which he sat as the assigned magistrate judge -- supervising discovery, running the court's mediation referrals, and, once the parties consented to his jurisdiction, approving the settlements under the Second Circuit's Cheeks standard. Across a sample of 16 such cases filed in 2016 and since closed, time from filing to termination ran from about six months to just over five years, with a median near 380 days; the long tail reflects cases that proceeded through full discovery before settling.
Put Judge Levy's record to work
Ezel drafts and answers grounded in this exact profile: how Judge Levy actually rules, not a generic AI guess.
Opens in Ezel Pro. Every answer is grounded in Judge Levy's own signed orders and cites them.