Bernice Bouie Donald
Judge Donald no longer hears cases. This profile is preserved as a historical record of how they ruled.
How Judge Donald decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
She rejected a discovery sanction that would decide the merits indirectly when the record did not establish willfulness, prior warnings, or inadequate lesser sanctions.
“the Court does not view this as a simple request for preclusion but as a backdoor route to judgment.”
When interpreting a public-services contract, she used the text, the parties' practical construction, and the surrounding record to resolve ambiguity rather than send a single reasonable interpretation to trial.
“the evidence indicates that ICF/MR residents are categorically included in the term ‘community’ and thus are eligible for CSN coverage.”
Procedural preferences
She treated collective-action procedure as a practical comparison of shared practices against material differences, rather than requiring every class member's proof to be identical.
“the differences among the plaintiffs outweigh the similarities of the practices to which they were allegedly subjected.”
She enforced arbitration-waiver principles when a party delayed invoking an agreement while the opposing party incurred the costs of extensive federal litigation.
“Torrid had actual notice of the existence of an arbitration clause for over three years before the present motion was filed”
Cautions
At summary judgment she required admissible evidence rather than hearsay or an opponent's lack of documentation, particularly where ownership and forfeiture remained disputed.
“the Government has offered no competent evidence to establish that the vehicle instead belongs to Floyd”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“the Court denies Plaintiffs’ motion for preclusion as a discovery sanction under Rule 37(c).”
“The Court also DENIES Plaintiffs’ motion for leave to supplement their opposition to Dll’s motion for summary judgment as moot.”
“defendant’s motion for summary judgment is GRANTED”
“plaintiffs motion is DENIED”
“People First’s motion for partial summary judgment is GRANTED”
“Defendants’ motion for summary judgment is DENIED”
“ORDER DENYING DEFENDANTS’ MOTION TO DECERTIFY CLASS AND MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT”
“the Government’s motion to strike Claimant’s claim and answer or in the alternative for summary judgment is DENIED”
“this Court grants Defendants’ motions to transfer this case to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Massachusetts”
“the motion of the Ham and Broadnax Plaintiffs for certification of a class under Rule 23(b)(3) is GRANTED”
“The motion of the Lott and Pascarella Plaintiffs for class certification is DENIED as to certification of a class under Rule 23(b)(1)(A), but GRANTED as to certification of a class under Rule 23(b)(3).”
“the Ham Plaintiffs’ Rule 23(g) Motion for Appointment of Watson Burns, PLLC, as Interim Class Counsel filed December 10, 2010, is STRICKEN AS MOOT”
“Plaintiffs’ motion to conditionally certify class is GRANTED”
“TSAC’s Motion to Dismiss is GRANTED, and Plaintiffs Complaint is dismissed.”
“Plaintiffs’ Motion for Preliminary Injunction is DENIED”
“the Court DENIES Defendants’ motion to dismiss”
“the Court GRANTS Defendants’ motion to dismiss on the basis of Rule 12(b)(1)”
A historical record
Judge Donald 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.