September 2020 Civil Justice Reform Act

Introduction

The Civil Justice Reform Act of 1990 (CJRA) requires the Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts (AO), under 28 U.S.C. § 476, to prepare a semiannual report showing, by U.S. district judge and U.S. magistrate judge, all motions pending more than six months, all bench trials that have remained undecided more than six months, and all civil cases pending more than three years. In accordance with the policy of the Judicial Conference of the United States, this report also presents data on bankruptcy appeals pending more than six months (Rpt. of Proc. of JCUS, Mar. 10, 1998, at 11) and Social Security appeals pending more than six months (Rpt. of Proc. of JCUS, Sept. 15, 1998, at 63). The reporting requirements under the CJRA are designed to help reduce both costs and delays in civil litigation in the district courts. The information also may be used to evaluate demands on the district courts’ resources.

The CJRA report is prepared through the use of the Case Management/Electronic Case Files (CM/ECF) system. As a result, pending motions, bench trials, three-year-old cases, bankruptcy appeals, and Social Security appeals are reported in a standardized and consistent fashion.

Appendix A provides data for each district judge and magistrate judge on motions pending, bench trials submitted, cases pending more than three years, bankruptcy appeals pending, and Social Security appeals pending. The CJRA requires the AO Director to establish uniform standards for determining when a motion, bench trial, case, or bankruptcy appeal is “pending”; Appendix B lists these definitions.

Along with the semiannual consolidated national report, the AO prepares a supplemental report, A Report on Motions Pending for More Than Six Months, Bench Trials Submitted for More Than Six Months, Civil Cases Pending Three Years or More, Bankruptcy Appeals Pending for More Than Six Months, and Social Security Appeals Pending for More Than Six Months, that provides detailed information regarding the individual cases, motions, bench trials, and appeals pending in the district courts. This document is available to the public through the district courts, the executive offices of the U.S. courts of appeals, and the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.

Report Findings

The information in this report presents what may best be described as a “snapshot” of motions pending more than six months, bench trials submitted more than six months, civil cases pending more than three years, bankruptcy appeals pending more than six months, and Social Security appeals pending more than six months on September 30, 2020. District judge and magistrate judge caseloads change constantly, so many of the matters pending on September 30, 2020, have since been decided or transferred to other judges. Therefore, persons using reports of this type should take into account the state of change in the district courts’ pending caseloads. Although the information provided in this report pertains to the pending civil caseload of district judges and magistrate judges, readers should take into consideration the overall case processing demands placed on the courts by both civil and criminal matters. An accurate assessment of the demands placed on the district courts also requires consideration of numerous factors, including vacant judgeships and the effects of all cases making up each court’s caseload.

Methodology

This national report is designed to place special emphasis on detailed analyses that are extracted from the national CM/ECF system. Each district court is required to analyze the reasons for delays in disposing of motions, bench trials, three-year-old cases, bankruptcy appeals, and Social Security appeals. Judges use status codes to provide reasons for delays in these matters (see Appendix C). The nature of suit codes for types of civil litigation appear in Appendix D. More specific information about cases pending, motions pending, bench trials submitted, bankruptcy appeals pending, and Social Security appeals pending on March 31, 2020, and September 30, 2020, appears in CJRA Tables 1-4. Due to the delays and disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, some cases and motions were not disposed of prior to the end of the reporting period.

Number of Motions Pending on September 30, 2020

Motions. The total number of motions pending more than six months for all district judges and magistrate judges increased by 3,366 motions (up 74 percent) from 4,555 on March 31, 2020, to 7,921 on September 30, 2020. Ninety-three percent of all motions pending were before district judges, and seven percent were before magistrate judges.

For this CJRA report, 11 circuits reported growth in pending motions, and 1 circuit reported a decrease. The largest rises in pending motions occurred in the First Circuit (up 1,764 motions), Third Circuit (up 365 motions), and Second Circuit (up 291 motions). Within these circuits, the following districts reported the largest increases in pending motions (in many types of civil cases): The District of Puerto Rico (up 1,697 motions), District of the Virgin Islands (up 189 motions), and Northern District of Illinois (up 144 motions).

Primary Reasons for Delays in Pending Motions. District courts provided one or more status codes to indicate primary reasons for delays for each of the 7,921 pending motions reported for September 30, 2020. The status codes cited most often were opinion/decision in draft (1,729 motions), hearing on motion necessary (1,632 motions), heavy criminal and civil caseload (916 motions), complexity of case (876 motions), voluminous briefs/transcripts to be read (716 motions), and awaiting materials (554 motions).

Primary Nature of Suit Codes in Pending Motions. The primary nature of suit codes provided most often by district courts for pending motions were other statutory actions (1,907 motions), civil rights (1,701 motions), prisoner petitions (1,042 motions), contract (887 motions), labor (397 motions), and intellectual property rights (362 motions).

Number of Bench Trials Submitted Pending on September 30, 2020

Bench Trials. The total number of bench trials pending more than six months for all district judges and magistrate judges increased by 8 to 69 on September 30, 2020. Ninety percent of all bench trials submitted were before district judges, and 10 percent were before magistrate judges. Five of the 12 circuits reported growth in pending bench trials, and the totals for 7 circuits remained unchanged.

Primary Reasons for Delays in Pending Bench Trials. District courts provided one or more status codes to indicate the primary reasons for delays for each of the 69 pending bench trials reported for September 30, 2020. The status codes cited most often were opinion/decision in draft (39 trials), voluminous briefs/transcripts to be read (14 trials), complexity of case (13 trials), heavy criminal and civil caseload (13 trials), and awaiting materials (4 trials).

Primary Nature of Suit Codes in Pending Bench Trials. The primary nature of suit codes provided most often for pending bench trials were contract (17 trials), civil rights (12 trials), labor (8 trials), intellectual property rights (4 trials), environmental matters (4 trials), and real property (4 trials).

Number of Bankruptcy Appeals Pending on September 30, 2020

Bankruptcy Appeals. Bankruptcy appeals pending more than six months increased 9 percent from 344 on March 31, 2020, to 374 on September 30, 2020. All pending bankruptcy appeals were reported by district judges. Growth occurred in 6 of the 12 circuits, 3 circuits had decreases, and the total for 3 circuits remained unchanged. Five circuits accounted for 95 percent of all pending bankruptcy appeals: the Second Circuit (255 appeals), Ninth Circuit (56 appeals), Seventh Circuit (25 appeals), Third Circuit (11 appeals), and Sixth Circuit (9 appeals).

Primary Reasons for Delays in Pending Bankruptcy Appeals. District courts provided one or more status codes to indicate reasons for delays for each of the 374 pending bankruptcy appeals reported for September 30, 2020. The status codes cited most often were voluminous briefs/transcripts to be read (256 appeals), opinion/decision in draft (33 appeals), awaiting materials (25 appeals), recently received from the calendar of another judge (22 appeals), heavy criminal and civil caseload (16 appeals), and complexity of case (15 appeals).

Number of Social Security Appeals Pending on September 30, 2020

Social Security Appeals. Social Security appeals pending more than six months grew 47 percent from 542 on March 31, 2020, to 797 on September 30, 2020. District judges reported 74 percent of these appeals; magistrate judges reported 26 percent. Seven of the 12 circuits reported increases, 4 had decreases, and 1 reported that its total remained unchanged. The largest growth in pending Social Security appeals occurred in the Second Circuit (up 156 appeals), Ninth Circuit (up 69 appeals), First Circuit (up 31 appeals), Seventh Circuit (up 25 appeals), and Fourth Circuit (up 14 appeals).

Primary Reasons for Delays in Pending Social Security Appeals. District courts provided one or more status codes to indicate reasons for delays for all 797 pending Social Security appeals reported for September 30, 2020. The status codes cited most often were voluminous briefs/transcripts to be read (294 cases), opinion/decision in draft (120 appeals), heavy criminal and civil caseload (118 appeals), demands of criminal docket (71 appeals), recently received from the calendar of another judge (58 appeals), referred to magistrate judge  (53 appeals), and hearing on motion necessary (30 appeals).

Primary Nature of Suit Codes in Pending Social Security Appeals. Sixty-seven percent of pending Social Security appeals (533 appeals) involved disability insurance, 27 percent (217 appeals) addressed supplemental security income, and 6 percent (44 appeals) were related to retirement and survivors’ benefits.

Number of Civil Cases Pending on September 30, 2020

Civil Cases. The number of civil cases pending more than three years increased 7 percent (up 2,132 cases) from 29,519 on March 31, 2020, to 31,651 on September 30, 2020. District judges reported 98 percent of all pending three-year-old cases, and magistrate judges reported the remaining 2 percent. Three-year-old cases grew in 8 of the 12 circuits and declined in 4 circuits. The largest growth occurred in the Third Circuit, which had 1,304 more pending cases, most of them part of multidistrict litigation involving healthcare/pharmaceutical lawsuits against Johnson & Johnson talcum powder products. The second-largest growth occurred in the Seventh Circuit, which had 905 more pending cases, most of them part of multidistrict litigation involving healthcare/pharmaceutical lawsuits against Cook Medical, Incorporated inferior vena cava (IVC) filters.

Primary Reasons for Delays in Pending Civil Cases. District courts provided one or more status codes to indicate reasons for delays for all 31,651 civil cases reported for September 30, 2020. The status codes cited most often were multidistrict litigation (22,621 cases), complexity of case (2,158 cases), awaiting materials (1,250 cases), extensive discovery involved (1,205 cases), opinion/decision in draft (1,048 cases), trial scheduled (1,046 cases), referred to magistrate judge (911 cases), heavy criminal and civil caseload (818 cases), and settlement pending (767 cases).

Primary Nature of Suit Codes in Pending Civil Cases. The primary nature of suit codes given most often by district courts for pending civil cases were health care/pharmaceutical (17,302 cases), personal injury/product liability (2,997 cases), prisoner petitions (2,544 petitions), civil rights (1,856 cases), other personal injury (1,410 cases), contract (1,023 cases), labor (663 cases), and antitrust (615 cases).