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Phyllis J. Hamilton

See more on Phyllis J. Hamilton

Senior District Judge
USDC Northern District of California
Oakland
Department/Division: 3 Days: M-F Courtroom/Floor: 3rd

1301 Clay Street #4005
Oakland , CA 94612-5212
(510) 637-1296



Appointed as U.S. district judge, Northern District of California, 2000; U.S. magistrate judge, Northern District of California, 1991-2000; court commissioner, municipal court in Oakland-Piedmont-Emeryville Judicial District, 1985-91; administrative judge, U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board, San Francisco Regional Office, 1980-85; deputy public defender, Office of the State Public Defender, San Francisco, 1976-80

Santa Clara University School of Law, 1976



Judicial Profiles
Title Court Published
US judge Phyllis Hamilton champions hard work but also wellness USDC Northern District of California Jul. 10, 2024
Phyllis J. Hamilton Northern District of California (Oakland) May 2, 2013

Rulings
Case Category Published
Briskin v. Shopify, Inc.
reversed and remanded
 Civil Procedure Apr. 21, 2025
Kohn v. State Bar of California
vacated and remanded
 Constitutional Law Oct. 21, 2024
Kohn v. State Bar of California
affirmed in part
 Attorneys Dec. 6, 2023
Briskin v. Shopify Inc.
affirmed
 Civil Procedure Nov. 28, 2023
WhatsApp Inc. v. NSO Group Technologies
affirmed
 Immunity Nov. 9, 2021
United States v. Vandergroen
affirmed
 Criminal Law and Procedure Jul. 8, 2020
Campbell v. St. John
affirmed
 Civil Procedure Mar. 4, 2020
Animal Legal Defense Fund v. USDA
affirmed
 Administrative Agencies Aug. 13, 2019
Amended Opinion: U.S. ex rel. Rose v. Stephens Institute
affirmed
 Government Nov. 27, 2018
U.S. ex rel. Rose v. Stephens Institute
affirmed
 Government Aug. 27, 2018
U.S. v. Joyce
affirmed
 Criminal Law and Procedure Jul. 12, 2018
Amended Opinion: Davidson v. Kimberly-Clark Corp.
reversed and remanded
 Consumer Law May 10, 2018
San Francisco Apartment Association v. City and County of San Francisco
affirmed
 Constitutional Law Feb. 9, 2018
Davidson v. Kimberly-Clark Corp.
reversed and remanded
 Consumer Law Oct. 23, 2017
Estate of Lopez v. Gelhaus
affirmed
 Civil Rights Sep. 25, 2017

Verdicts & Settlements
Case Name Topic Role Published
NAACP of San Jose/Silicon Valley; San Jose Peace and Justice Center; M. Michael Acosta, as an individual; and Jose Canas; Leslie Vasquez; Peter Allen; Shaunn Cartwright; Yessica Riles; Jose Gustavo Flores Rodriguez; Alex Lee; Joseph Maldonado; Cindy Cuellar; Mahmoudreza Naemeh; and Megan Swift, on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated v. City of San Jose, Sam Liccardo, Edgardo Garcia, David Sykes, Jason Dwyer, Ronnie Lopez, Lee Tassio, Jared Yuen, Sean Michael Curry, Officer Fnu Delgado, and Does 1-100 Civil Rights judge Nov. 8, 2024
Sacrament Collective Pentecostal Church Inc. v. County of Santa Cruz, et al. Constitutional Law judge Mar. 15, 2024
Universal Protection Service LP dba Allied Universal Security Services v. Ave Seltsam Intellectual Property judge Nov. 17, 2023
Cody Bowlay-Williams, individually and on behalf of others similarly situated v. Google LLC Employment Law judge Nov. 17, 2023
Brenda Barros, Kim C. Lynch, Dellfinia Hardy, Rachell Evans, Darlene Daevu, Jo-Theresa Elias-Jackson, Cheryl Thornton, Donna James v. City and County of San Francisco Employment Law judge Jun. 23, 2023
Bruce Horti, et al. v. Nestle Healthcare Nutrition Inc. Consumer Law judge Feb. 3, 2023
Reena Saintjermain, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated v. Fluidigm Corporation, Stephen Christopher Linthwaite, and Vikram Jog Securities judge Nov. 18, 2022
Lauren Marie Barbiero, et al. v. Charles Schwab Investment Advisory Inc., et al. Securities judge Jul. 29, 2022
Brandon Briskin v. Shopify Inc., et al. Consumer Law judge Jul. 1, 2022
Cyntec Company Ltd. v. Chilisin Electronics Corp., Chilisin America Ltd. Intellectual Property judge Sep. 24, 2021
Hugo Elliott v. PubMatic, Inc. Torts judge Sep. 10, 2021
Dr. Shalmon Duke v. City College of San Francisco, Chancellor Mark William Rocha, and Does 1-10, inclusive Torts judge Jun. 11, 2021
Tiffany Masterson, individually and as Successor in Interest of the Estate of Logan Masterson, Christy Medina, as Guardian ad Litem for Minor Plaintiff Bentley Masterson, Suzette Smith, as Guardian ad Litem for Minor Plaintiff Bella Masterson, Christy Masterson, as Guardian ad Litem for Minor Plaintiffs Hailey Masterson and Chloe Masterson v. County of Alameda, Gregory J. Ahern, in his individual and official capacity; Deputy Nicholas Lagorio, Sergeant Joshua Pape, Carol Burton, in her individual and official capacity as Interim Director of the Alameda County Behavioral Health Services Agency, Kim Curtis, LCSW, Hayley Holland, AMFT, Bobbie Cook, MFT, California Forensic Medical Group, Savitha Quadros, RN, Jane Mwangi, RN, Melynda Logan, RN, and Does 1-20 Civil Rights judge May 28, 2021
Shana Gudgel v. The Clorox Company Consumer Law judge Feb. 19, 2021
Benjamin Kohn v. The State Bar of California, California Committee of Bar Examiners, and Their Agents In Their Official Capacity Civil Rights judge Nov. 20, 2020
Linda Cheslow, et al. v. Ghirardelli Chocolate Company Consumer Law judge Sep. 4, 2020
United States of America, et al. v. Kohler Co. Environmental Law judge Jul. 10, 2020
Tim Adams v. Terry Ann DeLoria, Personally and in her Official Capacity as Superintendent of the Jefferson Union High School District, Megan Carey, Personally and in her Official Capacity as Principal of Terra Nova High School Civil Rights judge Apr. 24, 2020
Darryl Roberts v. United Food & Commercial Workers Local 648 Employment Law judge Mar. 13, 2020
Expensify, Inc. v. Eddie White Declaratory Relief judge Dec. 13, 2019
Scott Johnson v. Autozone Inc. Civil Rights judge May 3, 2019
In re K12 Inc. Securities Litigation Securities judge Apr. 12, 2019
Estate of Andy Lopez, by and through successors in interest, Rodrigo Lopez and Sujay Cruz, and Rodrigo Lopez and Sujay Cruz, individually v. Erick Gelhaus, County of Sonoma, Does 1 to 10, inclusive Civil Rights judge Feb. 1, 2019
Christopher Steven Butler v. California Department of Corrections, Scott Kerman, S. Hatton, M. Voong, L. Urquidez and T. Aquil Civil Rights judge Jan. 4, 2019
In re Rocket Fuel Inc. Securities Litigation Securities judge Mar. 23, 2018
Viswanath V. Shankar, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated v. Imperva Inc., Shlomo Kramer, Terrence J. Schmid Securities judge Mar. 2, 2018
Federal Trade Commission v. Springtech 77376, LLC dba Cedarcide.com and Cedarcidestore.com; Cedarcide Industries Inc.; Chemical Free Solutions LLC; Cedar Oil Technologies Corp.; Dave Glassel, individually and as an officer of Springtech 77376, LLC, Cedarcide Industries Inc., and Cedar Oil Technologies Corp. Consumer Law judge Feb. 16, 2018
Margaret Ward et al. v. The County of Mendocino Civil Rights judge Jan. 5, 2018
Robert Trevino v. E. Dotson, et al. Civil Rights judge Nov. 10, 2017
James Hutchins v. Nationstar Mortgage LLC, et al. Real Property judge Nov. 3, 2017
Matthew Campbell and Michael Hurley, on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated v. Facebook Inc. Torts judge Oct. 13, 2017
Francis Flores v. Tyco Electronics Employment Law judge Jan. 25, 2005
Confidential Employment Law judge Dec. 7, 2004
Confidential Civil Rights judge May 4, 2004
Wallace v. Smith Maritime Law judge Apr. 5, 2001
Richard Pfaeffle v. City and County of San Francisco, et al. Employment Law judge May 20, 1995
Carol Denney v. Alex Takaoka, et al. Civil Rights judge Jan. 8, 1994
Title Court Published
US judge Phyllis Hamilton champions hard work but also wellness USDC Northern District of California Jul. 10, 2024
Phyllis J. Hamilton Northern District of California (Oakland) May 2, 2013
Case Category Published
Briskin v. Shopify, Inc.
reversed and remanded
 Civil Procedure Apr. 21, 2025
Kohn v. State Bar of California
vacated and remanded
 Constitutional Law Oct. 21, 2024
Kohn v. State Bar of California
affirmed in part
 Attorneys Dec. 6, 2023
Briskin v. Shopify Inc.
affirmed
 Civil Procedure Nov. 28, 2023
WhatsApp Inc. v. NSO Group Technologies
affirmed
 Immunity Nov. 9, 2021
United States v. Vandergroen
affirmed
 Criminal Law and Procedure Jul. 8, 2020
Campbell v. St. John
affirmed
 Civil Procedure Mar. 4, 2020
Animal Legal Defense Fund v. USDA
affirmed
 Administrative Agencies Aug. 13, 2019
Amended Opinion: U.S. ex rel. Rose v. Stephens Institute
affirmed
 Government Nov. 27, 2018
U.S. ex rel. Rose v. Stephens Institute
affirmed
 Government Aug. 27, 2018
U.S. v. Joyce
affirmed
 Criminal Law and Procedure Jul. 12, 2018
Amended Opinion: Davidson v. Kimberly-Clark Corp.
reversed and remanded
 Consumer Law May 10, 2018
San Francisco Apartment Association v. City and County of San Francisco
affirmed
 Constitutional Law Feb. 9, 2018
Davidson v. Kimberly-Clark Corp.
reversed and remanded
 Consumer Law Oct. 23, 2017
Estate of Lopez v. Gelhaus
affirmed
 Civil Rights Sep. 25, 2017
Case Name Topic Role Published
NAACP of San Jose/Silicon Valley; San Jose Peace and Justice Center; M. Michael Acosta, as an individual; and Jose Canas; Leslie Vasquez; Peter Allen; Shaunn Cartwright; Yessica Riles; Jose Gustavo Flores Rodriguez; Alex Lee; Joseph Maldonado; Cindy Cuellar; Mahmoudreza Naemeh; and Megan Swift, on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated v. City of San Jose, Sam Liccardo, Edgardo Garcia, David Sykes, Jason Dwyer, Ronnie Lopez, Lee Tassio, Jared Yuen, Sean Michael Curry, Officer Fnu Delgado, and Does 1-100 Civil Rights judge Nov. 8, 2024
Sacrament Collective Pentecostal Church Inc. v. County of Santa Cruz, et al. Constitutional Law judge Mar. 15, 2024
Universal Protection Service LP dba Allied Universal Security Services v. Ave Seltsam Intellectual Property judge Nov. 17, 2023
Cody Bowlay-Williams, individually and on behalf of others similarly situated v. Google LLC Employment Law judge Nov. 17, 2023
Brenda Barros, Kim C. Lynch, Dellfinia Hardy, Rachell Evans, Darlene Daevu, Jo-Theresa Elias-Jackson, Cheryl Thornton, Donna James v. City and County of San Francisco Employment Law judge Jun. 23, 2023
Bruce Horti, et al. v. Nestle Healthcare Nutrition Inc. Consumer Law judge Feb. 3, 2023
Reena Saintjermain, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated v. Fluidigm Corporation, Stephen Christopher Linthwaite, and Vikram Jog Securities judge Nov. 18, 2022
Lauren Marie Barbiero, et al. v. Charles Schwab Investment Advisory Inc., et al. Securities judge Jul. 29, 2022
Brandon Briskin v. Shopify Inc., et al. Consumer Law judge Jul. 1, 2022
Cyntec Company Ltd. v. Chilisin Electronics Corp., Chilisin America Ltd. Intellectual Property judge Sep. 24, 2021
Hugo Elliott v. PubMatic, Inc. Torts judge Sep. 10, 2021
Dr. Shalmon Duke v. City College of San Francisco, Chancellor Mark William Rocha, and Does 1-10, inclusive Torts judge Jun. 11, 2021
Tiffany Masterson, individually and as Successor in Interest of the Estate of Logan Masterson, Christy Medina, as Guardian ad Litem for Minor Plaintiff Bentley Masterson, Suzette Smith, as Guardian ad Litem for Minor Plaintiff Bella Masterson, Christy Masterson, as Guardian ad Litem for Minor Plaintiffs Hailey Masterson and Chloe Masterson v. County of Alameda, Gregory J. Ahern, in his individual and official capacity; Deputy Nicholas Lagorio, Sergeant Joshua Pape, Carol Burton, in her individual and official capacity as Interim Director of the Alameda County Behavioral Health Services Agency, Kim Curtis, LCSW, Hayley Holland, AMFT, Bobbie Cook, MFT, California Forensic Medical Group, Savitha Quadros, RN, Jane Mwangi, RN, Melynda Logan, RN, and Does 1-20 Civil Rights judge May 28, 2021
Shana Gudgel v. The Clorox Company Consumer Law judge Feb. 19, 2021
Benjamin Kohn v. The State Bar of California, California Committee of Bar Examiners, and Their Agents In Their Official Capacity Civil Rights judge Nov. 20, 2020
Linda Cheslow, et al. v. Ghirardelli Chocolate Company Consumer Law judge Sep. 4, 2020
United States of America, et al. v. Kohler Co. Environmental Law judge Jul. 10, 2020
Tim Adams v. Terry Ann DeLoria, Personally and in her Official Capacity as Superintendent of the Jefferson Union High School District, Megan Carey, Personally and in her Official Capacity as Principal of Terra Nova High School Civil Rights judge Apr. 24, 2020
Darryl Roberts v. United Food & Commercial Workers Local 648 Employment Law judge Mar. 13, 2020
Expensify, Inc. v. Eddie White Declaratory Relief judge Dec. 13, 2019
Scott Johnson v. Autozone Inc. Civil Rights judge May 3, 2019
In re K12 Inc. Securities Litigation Securities judge Apr. 12, 2019
Estate of Andy Lopez, by and through successors in interest, Rodrigo Lopez and Sujay Cruz, and Rodrigo Lopez and Sujay Cruz, individually v. Erick Gelhaus, County of Sonoma, Does 1 to 10, inclusive Civil Rights judge Feb. 1, 2019
Christopher Steven Butler v. California Department of Corrections, Scott Kerman, S. Hatton, M. Voong, L. Urquidez and T. Aquil Civil Rights judge Jan. 4, 2019
In re Rocket Fuel Inc. Securities Litigation Securities judge Mar. 23, 2018
Viswanath V. Shankar, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated v. Imperva Inc., Shlomo Kramer, Terrence J. Schmid Securities judge Mar. 2, 2018
Federal Trade Commission v. Springtech 77376, LLC dba Cedarcide.com and Cedarcidestore.com; Cedarcide Industries Inc.; Chemical Free Solutions LLC; Cedar Oil Technologies Corp.; Dave Glassel, individually and as an officer of Springtech 77376, LLC, Cedarcide Industries Inc., and Cedar Oil Technologies Corp. Consumer Law judge Feb. 16, 2018
Margaret Ward et al. v. The County of Mendocino Civil Rights judge Jan. 5, 2018
Robert Trevino v. E. Dotson, et al. Civil Rights judge Nov. 10, 2017
James Hutchins v. Nationstar Mortgage LLC, et al. Real Property judge Nov. 3, 2017
Matthew Campbell and Michael Hurley, on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated v. Facebook Inc. Torts judge Oct. 13, 2017
Francis Flores v. Tyco Electronics Employment Law judge Jan. 25, 2005
Confidential Employment Law judge Dec. 7, 2004
Confidential Civil Rights judge May 4, 2004
Wallace v. Smith Maritime Law judge Apr. 5, 2001
Richard Pfaeffle v. City and County of San Francisco, et al. Employment Law judge May 20, 1995
Carol Denney v. Alex Takaoka, et al. Civil Rights judge Jan. 8, 1994
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