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Charles R. Breyer

See more on Charles R. Breyer

Senior District Judge
USDC Northern District of California
Phillip Burton Federal Building & US Courthouse
United States District Court for the Northern District of California
Department/Division: 6 Days: M-F Courtroom/Floor: 17th

450 Golden Gate Ave
San Francisco , CA 94102
(415) 522-2062



Assumed senior status, 2011; appointed by President Bill Clinton as a Northern District of California judge, 1997; partner, Coblentz, Cahen, McCabe & Breyer, 1980-1997; chief assistant district attorney, San Francisco County, 1979-1980; associate, Jacobs, Sills & Coblentz, 1974-1979; assistant special prosecutor, Watergate Special Prosecution Force, 1973-1974; assistant district attorney, San Francisco, 1968-1973; staff attorney, Legal Aid Society of San Francisco, 1967-1968; law clerk, Hon. Oliver J. Carter, 1966-1967

UC Berkeley School of Law, 1966



Judicial Profiles
Title Court Published
Deep Respect Northern District of California (San Francisco) Mar. 9, 2018
Relishing the Spar U.S. District Court (San Francisco) Aug. 20, 2009

Columns
Title Category Published
Column misunderstands limited purpose of sentencing tool Letters, Criminal Nov. 30, 2021

Rulings
Case Category Published
Sikousis Legacy, Inc., V. B-Gas Limited et al
affirmed
 Civil Procedure Mar. 25, 2024
Amended Opinion: No on E v. David Chiu
affirmed
 Constitutional Law Oct. 26, 2023
Polanco v. Diaz
affirmed
 Civil Rights Aug. 7, 2023
Alexis Hunley, et al. v. Instagram, LLC
affirmed
 Copyright Jul. 17, 2023
Amended Opinion: Hernandez Avilez v. Garland
Immigration Jun. 6, 2023
Omar Gay v. Amy Parsons
affirmed
 Immunity Mar. 13, 2023
O'Handley v. Weber
affirmed
 Constitutional Law Mar. 10, 2023
No on E v. David Chiu
affirmed
 Constitutional Law Mar. 8, 2023
Amended Opinion: Matias Rauda v. Jennings
affirmed
 Immigration Dec. 13, 2022
Riley v. Volkswagen Group of America
vacated and remanded
 Remedies Oct. 18, 2022
U.S. v. Saelee
affirmed
 Criminal Law and Procedure Oct. 11, 2022
Hernandez Avilez v. Garland
vacated and remanded
 Immigration Sep. 8, 2022
In re Google Inc. Street View Electronic Communications Litigation
affirmed
 Remedies Dec. 28, 2021
U.S. v. Prasad
affirmed
 Criminal Law and Procedure Nov. 9, 2021
In re: Berkovich
author
 Bankruptcy Oct. 15, 2021
Matias Rauda v. Jennings
affirmed
 Immigration Aug. 16, 2021
In re Volkswagen Litigation
reversed
 Securities Jun. 28, 2021
Friedman v. Tesla
affirmed
 Securities Jan. 27, 2021
U.S. v. Dixon
vacated and remanded
 Criminal Law and Procedure Jan. 4, 2021
U.S. v. Ngumezi
vacated and remanded
 Criminal Law and Procedure Nov. 23, 2020
U.S. v. Alhaggagi
vacated and remanded
 Criminal Law and Procedure Oct. 23, 2020
In re Volkswagen Clean Diesel Litigation
affirmed
 Civil Procedure Sep. 11, 2020
California Parents for the Equalization of Educational Materials v. Torlakson
affirmed
 Civil Rights Sep. 4, 2020
U.S. v. Hussain
affirmed
 Criminal Law and Procedure Aug. 27, 2020
In re Grand Jury Investigation, USAO No. 2018R01761
affirmed in part
 Civil Procedure Jul. 28, 2020
In re Volkswagen "Clean Diesel" Marketing, Sales Practices, and Products Liability Litigation
affirmed in part
 Environmental Law Jun. 3, 2020
U.S. v. Lindsay
affirmed
 Criminal Law and Procedure Jul. 24, 2019
In re Volkswagen "Clean Diesel" Litigation
affirmed
 Attorneys Jan. 23, 2019
Dutta v. State Farm
affirmed
 Constitutional Law Jul. 16, 2018
In re Volkswagen "Clean Diesel" Litigation
affirmed
 Civil Procedure Jul. 10, 2018
In re Volkswagen Litigation
affirmed
 Civil Procedure Jul. 5, 2018
Jackson v. Fong
reversed and remanded
 Prisoners' Rights Sep. 1, 2017

Verdicts & Settlements
Case Name Topic Role Published
X Corp. v. Center for Countering Digital Hate Inc., et al. Constitutional Law judge Jan. 31, 2025
Dish Network LLC v. Jadoo TV Inc., Sajid Sohail Intellectual Property judge Jan. 24, 2025
Rebecca S. Lane v. Lake County Housing Commission Employment Law judge Aug. 9, 2024
In re: McKinsey & Co. Inc. National Prescription Opiate Consultant Litigation Personal Injury judge May 3, 2024
Elettra Meeks, Joseph De La Cruz, Stephanie Laguna, and Amber Leonard, on behalf of themselves and others similarly situated v. Equifax Information Services LLC Consumer Law judge Apr. 19, 2024
Disability Rights California v. County of Alameda, Alameda County Behavioral Health Care Services Civil Rights judge Mar. 22, 2024
Julio Arevalo v. City of Palo Alto, City of Palo Alto Police Department, Palo Alto Police Chief Robert Jonsen, Pal o Alto Police Agent Thomas Alan Destefano Jr., Palo Alto Police Sgt. Dujuan E. Green, Palo Alto Police Sgt. John Alaniz, Palo Alto Police Officer Nick Enberg, Palo Alto Police Officer Brian Connelly, Palo Alto Police Officer Ian Johnson, Palo Alto Police Officer Priess, Palo Alto Police Lieutenant Ben Becchetti, Palo Alto Police Department Public Safety Program Manager/Records Manage Lisa Scheff, and Does 1 thru 75, Jointly and Severally Civil Rights judge Mar. 1, 2024
In re: Eargo Inc. Securities Litigation Securities judge Feb. 9, 2024
Florentino Javier v. Assurance IQ LLC, et al. Consumer Law judge Feb. 9, 2024
Ayush Herbs Inc. v. Distacart Inc., Genie Exports Pvt Ltd. Intellectual Property judge Dec. 8, 2023
Ralph Duran, Michael Esparza v. California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection; California Department of Human Resources; Joe Tyler; Eraina Ortega Civil Rights judge Nov. 17, 2023
Huei-Ting Kang, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated v. Paypal Holdings Inc., Daniel H. Schulman, and John D. Rainey Securities judge Sep. 22, 2023
Brittany Wynn, on behalf of herself and all others similarly situated v. United Parcel Service Inc., and Does 1 through 50, inclusive Consumer Law judge Jun. 9, 2023
Peter Strojnik v. Starbucks Corporation Consumer Law judge Apr. 28, 2023
Bahar Mikhak v. University of Phoenix Inc., et al. Employment Law judge Mar. 31, 2023
Andres Gomez v. Matthew Paul Miersch Civil Rights judge Mar. 24, 2023
Marie Hammerling and Kay Jackson, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated v. Google LLC Contracts judge Mar. 10, 2023
Saloojas Inc. v. Cigna Healthcare of California Inc. Employment Law judge Mar. 10, 2023
Margaret Lundstrom v. Contra Costa Health Services Civil Rights judge Mar. 10, 2023
Orlando Garcia v. Martin Pena, et al. Civil Rights judge Jan. 27, 2023
Brenda Penhall v. Lake County Probation Department, et al. Employment Law judge Dec. 16, 2022
Rogan O'Handley v. Alex Padilla, et al. Constitutional Law judge Nov. 4, 2022
Scott Johnson v. Lorraine C. Blackburn, et al. Civil Rights judge Oct. 14, 2022
Vasily Trofimchuk v. Bitclave PTE Ltd. Bankruptcy judge Oct. 14, 2022
FCE Benefit Administrators Inc. v. Indian Harbor Insurance Company Insurance judge Oct. 7, 2022
Canyon Bridge Fund I LP v. Wave Computing Inc. Bankruptcy judge Oct. 7, 2022
Arthur Higgins, Larry Tiller, Lorenzo Bell v. City and County of San Francisco, FNU, Gunn, in his individual capacity as a police officer for the San Francisco Police Department, and Does 1-50, inclusive Civil Rights judge Sep. 9, 2022
Adrian Rangel v. Jack Dorsey, et al. Contracts judge Sep. 2, 2022
Temple of 1001 Buddhas, et al. v. City of Freemont Constitutional Law judge Jul. 15, 2022
Elias Kifle v. YouTube LLC, et al. Intellectual Property judge Jul. 8, 2022
Alexis Hunley and Matthew Scott Brauer, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated v. Instagram LLC Intellectual Property judge Mar. 4, 2022
Jason Lopez v. WinCo Holdings, Inc. et al. Employment Law judge Sep. 17, 2021
William Leonard Pickard v. United States Department of Justice Civil Rights judge Sep. 17, 2021
Securities and Exchange Commission v. Luca International Group LLC; Luca Resources Group LLC; Luca Energy Fund LLC; Entholpy EMC Inc.; Bingqing Yang; Lei (Lily) Lei; Anthony V. Pollace; Yong (Michael) Chen Securities judge Jul. 2, 2021
In re Intuit Free File Litigation Consumer Law judge Dec. 4, 2020
Jean E. Henry, Individually and derivative on behalf of McKesson Corporation v. Brian J. Tyler, James Beer, Edward A. Mueller, N. Anthony Coles, M. Christine Jacobs, Donald R. Knauss, Marie L. Knowles, Susan R. Salka, John H. Hammergren, Wayne A. Budd, Andy D. Bryant, Alton F. Irby, III, David M. Lawrence Securities judge Apr. 3, 2020
Esteban Hernandez Gallardo v. Rosemary Ndoh Civil Rights judge Apr. 12, 2019
Michael Bennett; Linda Bennett, as Co-Administrators of the Estate of Maria Ann Bennett v. Franklin Resources Inc., et al. Torts judge Feb. 22, 2019
Elizabeth Aida Haskell, et al. v. Edmund G. Brown Civil Rights judge Jan. 25, 2019
Marco Heyward v. California Highway Patrol, et al. Civil Rights judge Dec. 15, 2017
Daniel Levin, Maria Levin, Parklane Associates L.P., San Francisco Apartment Association, Coalition for Better Housing v. City and County of San Francisco Real Property judge Dec. 1, 2017
Wayne Vernon v. City and County of San Francisco, George Perez Civil Rights judge Dec. 13, 2008
Gwendolyn Sacco v. Steven Benzinger, Holly Bianco, Ann Bower Civil Rights judge May 18, 2004
Confidential Employment Law judge Nov. 11, 2003
Confidential Intellectual Property judge Jul. 13, 2002
Confidential Torts judge Nov. 11, 2000
Title Court Published
Deep Respect Northern District of California (San Francisco) Mar. 9, 2018
Relishing the Spar U.S. District Court (San Francisco) Aug. 20, 2009
Title Category Published
Column misunderstands limited purpose of sentencing tool Letters, Criminal Nov. 30, 2021
Case Category Published
Sikousis Legacy, Inc., V. B-Gas Limited et al
affirmed
 Civil Procedure Mar. 25, 2024
Amended Opinion: No on E v. David Chiu
affirmed
 Constitutional Law Oct. 26, 2023
Polanco v. Diaz
affirmed
 Civil Rights Aug. 7, 2023
Alexis Hunley, et al. v. Instagram, LLC
affirmed
 Copyright Jul. 17, 2023
Amended Opinion: Hernandez Avilez v. Garland
Immigration Jun. 6, 2023
Omar Gay v. Amy Parsons
affirmed
 Immunity Mar. 13, 2023
O'Handley v. Weber
affirmed
 Constitutional Law Mar. 10, 2023
No on E v. David Chiu
affirmed
 Constitutional Law Mar. 8, 2023
Amended Opinion: Matias Rauda v. Jennings
affirmed
 Immigration Dec. 13, 2022
Riley v. Volkswagen Group of America
vacated and remanded
 Remedies Oct. 18, 2022
U.S. v. Saelee
affirmed
 Criminal Law and Procedure Oct. 11, 2022
Hernandez Avilez v. Garland
vacated and remanded
 Immigration Sep. 8, 2022
In re Google Inc. Street View Electronic Communications Litigation
affirmed
 Remedies Dec. 28, 2021
U.S. v. Prasad
affirmed
 Criminal Law and Procedure Nov. 9, 2021
In re: Berkovich
author
 Bankruptcy Oct. 15, 2021
Matias Rauda v. Jennings
affirmed
 Immigration Aug. 16, 2021
In re Volkswagen Litigation
reversed
 Securities Jun. 28, 2021
Friedman v. Tesla
affirmed
 Securities Jan. 27, 2021
U.S. v. Dixon
vacated and remanded
 Criminal Law and Procedure Jan. 4, 2021
U.S. v. Ngumezi
vacated and remanded
 Criminal Law and Procedure Nov. 23, 2020
U.S. v. Alhaggagi
vacated and remanded
 Criminal Law and Procedure Oct. 23, 2020
In re Volkswagen Clean Diesel Litigation
affirmed
 Civil Procedure Sep. 11, 2020
California Parents for the Equalization of Educational Materials v. Torlakson
affirmed
 Civil Rights Sep. 4, 2020
U.S. v. Hussain
affirmed
 Criminal Law and Procedure Aug. 27, 2020
In re Grand Jury Investigation, USAO No. 2018R01761
affirmed in part
 Civil Procedure Jul. 28, 2020
In re Volkswagen "Clean Diesel" Marketing, Sales Practices, and Products Liability Litigation
affirmed in part
 Environmental Law Jun. 3, 2020
U.S. v. Lindsay
affirmed
 Criminal Law and Procedure Jul. 24, 2019
In re Volkswagen "Clean Diesel" Litigation
affirmed
 Attorneys Jan. 23, 2019
Dutta v. State Farm
affirmed
 Constitutional Law Jul. 16, 2018
In re Volkswagen "Clean Diesel" Litigation
affirmed
 Civil Procedure Jul. 10, 2018
In re Volkswagen Litigation
affirmed
 Civil Procedure Jul. 5, 2018
Jackson v. Fong
reversed and remanded
 Prisoners' Rights Sep. 1, 2017
Case Name Topic Role Published
X Corp. v. Center for Countering Digital Hate Inc., et al. Constitutional Law judge Jan. 31, 2025
Dish Network LLC v. Jadoo TV Inc., Sajid Sohail Intellectual Property judge Jan. 24, 2025
Rebecca S. Lane v. Lake County Housing Commission Employment Law judge Aug. 9, 2024
In re: McKinsey & Co. Inc. National Prescription Opiate Consultant Litigation Personal Injury judge May 3, 2024
Elettra Meeks, Joseph De La Cruz, Stephanie Laguna, and Amber Leonard, on behalf of themselves and others similarly situated v. Equifax Information Services LLC Consumer Law judge Apr. 19, 2024
Disability Rights California v. County of Alameda, Alameda County Behavioral Health Care Services Civil Rights judge Mar. 22, 2024
Julio Arevalo v. City of Palo Alto, City of Palo Alto Police Department, Palo Alto Police Chief Robert Jonsen, Pal o Alto Police Agent Thomas Alan Destefano Jr., Palo Alto Police Sgt. Dujuan E. Green, Palo Alto Police Sgt. John Alaniz, Palo Alto Police Officer Nick Enberg, Palo Alto Police Officer Brian Connelly, Palo Alto Police Officer Ian Johnson, Palo Alto Police Officer Priess, Palo Alto Police Lieutenant Ben Becchetti, Palo Alto Police Department Public Safety Program Manager/Records Manage Lisa Scheff, and Does 1 thru 75, Jointly and Severally Civil Rights judge Mar. 1, 2024
In re: Eargo Inc. Securities Litigation Securities judge Feb. 9, 2024
Florentino Javier v. Assurance IQ LLC, et al. Consumer Law judge Feb. 9, 2024
Ayush Herbs Inc. v. Distacart Inc., Genie Exports Pvt Ltd. Intellectual Property judge Dec. 8, 2023
Ralph Duran, Michael Esparza v. California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection; California Department of Human Resources; Joe Tyler; Eraina Ortega Civil Rights judge Nov. 17, 2023
Huei-Ting Kang, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated v. Paypal Holdings Inc., Daniel H. Schulman, and John D. Rainey Securities judge Sep. 22, 2023
Brittany Wynn, on behalf of herself and all others similarly situated v. United Parcel Service Inc., and Does 1 through 50, inclusive Consumer Law judge Jun. 9, 2023
Peter Strojnik v. Starbucks Corporation Consumer Law judge Apr. 28, 2023
Bahar Mikhak v. University of Phoenix Inc., et al. Employment Law judge Mar. 31, 2023
Andres Gomez v. Matthew Paul Miersch Civil Rights judge Mar. 24, 2023
Marie Hammerling and Kay Jackson, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated v. Google LLC Contracts judge Mar. 10, 2023
Saloojas Inc. v. Cigna Healthcare of California Inc. Employment Law judge Mar. 10, 2023
Margaret Lundstrom v. Contra Costa Health Services Civil Rights judge Mar. 10, 2023
Orlando Garcia v. Martin Pena, et al. Civil Rights judge Jan. 27, 2023
Brenda Penhall v. Lake County Probation Department, et al. Employment Law judge Dec. 16, 2022
Rogan O'Handley v. Alex Padilla, et al. Constitutional Law judge Nov. 4, 2022
Scott Johnson v. Lorraine C. Blackburn, et al. Civil Rights judge Oct. 14, 2022
Vasily Trofimchuk v. Bitclave PTE Ltd. Bankruptcy judge Oct. 14, 2022
FCE Benefit Administrators Inc. v. Indian Harbor Insurance Company Insurance judge Oct. 7, 2022
Canyon Bridge Fund I LP v. Wave Computing Inc. Bankruptcy judge Oct. 7, 2022
Arthur Higgins, Larry Tiller, Lorenzo Bell v. City and County of San Francisco, FNU, Gunn, in his individual capacity as a police officer for the San Francisco Police Department, and Does 1-50, inclusive Civil Rights judge Sep. 9, 2022
Adrian Rangel v. Jack Dorsey, et al. Contracts judge Sep. 2, 2022
Temple of 1001 Buddhas, et al. v. City of Freemont Constitutional Law judge Jul. 15, 2022
Elias Kifle v. YouTube LLC, et al. Intellectual Property judge Jul. 8, 2022
Alexis Hunley and Matthew Scott Brauer, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated v. Instagram LLC Intellectual Property judge Mar. 4, 2022
Jason Lopez v. WinCo Holdings, Inc. et al. Employment Law judge Sep. 17, 2021
William Leonard Pickard v. United States Department of Justice Civil Rights judge Sep. 17, 2021
Securities and Exchange Commission v. Luca International Group LLC; Luca Resources Group LLC; Luca Energy Fund LLC; Entholpy EMC Inc.; Bingqing Yang; Lei (Lily) Lei; Anthony V. Pollace; Yong (Michael) Chen Securities judge Jul. 2, 2021
In re Intuit Free File Litigation Consumer Law judge Dec. 4, 2020
Jean E. Henry, Individually and derivative on behalf of McKesson Corporation v. Brian J. Tyler, James Beer, Edward A. Mueller, N. Anthony Coles, M. Christine Jacobs, Donald R. Knauss, Marie L. Knowles, Susan R. Salka, John H. Hammergren, Wayne A. Budd, Andy D. Bryant, Alton F. Irby, III, David M. Lawrence Securities judge Apr. 3, 2020
Esteban Hernandez Gallardo v. Rosemary Ndoh Civil Rights judge Apr. 12, 2019
Michael Bennett; Linda Bennett, as Co-Administrators of the Estate of Maria Ann Bennett v. Franklin Resources Inc., et al. Torts judge Feb. 22, 2019
Elizabeth Aida Haskell, et al. v. Edmund G. Brown Civil Rights judge Jan. 25, 2019
Marco Heyward v. California Highway Patrol, et al. Civil Rights judge Dec. 15, 2017
Daniel Levin, Maria Levin, Parklane Associates L.P., San Francisco Apartment Association, Coalition for Better Housing v. City and County of San Francisco Real Property judge Dec. 1, 2017
Wayne Vernon v. City and County of San Francisco, George Perez Civil Rights judge Dec. 13, 2008
Gwendolyn Sacco v. Steven Benzinger, Holly Bianco, Ann Bower Civil Rights judge May 18, 2004
Confidential Employment Law judge Nov. 11, 2003
Confidential Intellectual Property judge Jul. 13, 2002
Confidential Torts judge Nov. 11, 2000
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