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James Donato

See more on James Donato

District Judge
USDC Northern District of California
Phillip Burton Federal Building & US Courthouse
Northern District of California
Department/Division: 11 Days: M-F Courtroom/Floor: 19th

450 Golden Gate Ave
San Francisco , CA 94102
(415) 522-2066





Judicial Profiles
Title Court Published
James J. Donato Northern District of California (San Francisco) Sep. 17, 2015

Columns
Title Category Published
Let's Talk About Something Else 2: 'Obama' Judges Judges and Judiciary Dec. 3, 2018
Let's Talk About Something Else 1: Kavanaugh Collateral Damage U.S. Supreme Court, Judges and Judiciary Oct. 2, 2018

Rulings
Case Category Published
Godun v. Justanswer LLC
affirmed
 Consumer Law Apr. 15, 2025
In Re: Ex Parte Application of Gliner
vacated and remanded
 Civil Procedure Apr. 1, 2025
U.S. v. Wilson
concurring
 Criminal Law and Procedure Dec. 19, 2024
Rose Court, LLC v. Select Portfolio Servicing, Inc.
affirmed
 Civil Procedure Oct. 17, 2024
Coastal Environmental Rights Foundation v. Naples Restaurant Group, LLC
dissenting
 Environmental Law Sep. 18, 2024
Abbey v. U.S.
affirmed
 Immunity Aug. 20, 2024
Libitzky v. U.S.
affirmed
 Tax Aug. 5, 2024
John Doe v. Garland
reversed and remanded
 Criminal Law and Procedure Jul. 29, 2024
Zellmer v. Meta Platforms Inc.
affirmed
 Cyber Law Jun. 17, 2024
DZ Reserve v. Meta Platforms, Inc.
affirmed in part
 Civil Procedure Mar. 21, 2024
McBurnie v. RAC Acceptance East LLC
remanded
 Arbitration Mar. 14, 2024
Daramola v. Oracle America, Inc.
affirmed
 Employment Law Feb. 6, 2024
Amended Opinion: Silbersher v. Valeant Pharmaceuticals Int'l
reversed and remanded
 Government Jan. 5, 2024
U.S. v. Fortenberry
author
 Civil Procedure Dec. 26, 2023
Silbersher v. Valeant Pharmaceuticals Int'l
reversed and remanded
 Government Aug. 3, 2023
Chen v. Albany School District
affirmed
 Constitutional Law Dec. 27, 2022
Cannara v. Nemeth
affirmed
 Civil Procedure Jan. 3, 2022
Perez v. Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems Inc.
affirmed
 Civil Procedure May 12, 2020
Patel v. Facebook
affirmed
 Civil Procedure Aug. 9, 2019
Winding Creek Solar LLC v. Carla Peterman
affirmed
 Utilities Jul. 30, 2019
Elmakhzoumi v. Sessions
affirmed
 Immigration Mar. 2, 2018

Verdicts & Settlements
Case Name Topic Role Published
Ralph Milan and Elizabeth Arnold, on behalf of themselves, those similarly situated and the general public v. Clif Bar & Company Consumer Law judge Feb. 7, 2025
Center for Biological Diversity v. Gina Raimondo, in her official capacity as Secretary of Commerce; National Marine Fisheries Service Environmental Law judge May 10, 2024
The Unity Care Group v. County of Santa Clara, California Civil Rights judge May 10, 2024
In re: Google Play Store Antitrust Litigation Antitrust judge Apr. 5, 2024
Mark Comin v. International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) Contracts judge Mar. 1, 2024
Nathaniel Foster, an Individual; Pamela Foster, an Individual; Nathaniel Foster, Jr., by and through his Conservator Nathaniel Foster; and Natalie Foster, a Minor, by and through her Guardian ad Litem, Pamela Foster v. United Airlines Holdings, Inc., a Delaware Corporation; United Airlines, Inc., a Delaware Corporation; ExpressJet Airlines LLC, Inc. dba United Express, a Foreign Profit Corporation; DAL Global Services, LLC, a Delaware Limited Liability Corporation Torts judge Dec. 1, 2023
MetroPCS California, LLC v. Alice Reynolds, et al. Government judge Nov. 10, 2023
Timothy Smith Jr. v. AT&T Fidelity Investments Employment Law judge Oct. 6, 2023
In re: Google Play Developer Antitrust Litigation Antitrust judge Jun. 30, 2023
David Swartz, Cristina Salgado, and Marcelo Muto, on behalf of themselves and those similarly situtated v. The Coca-Cola Company, Bluetriton Brands Inc., and Niagara Bottling Inc. Consumer Law judge Apr. 28, 2023
Kevin Abbey, et al. v. United States of America, Department of the Navy, et al. Personal Injury judge Apr. 28, 2023
Michael Tibbets v. Kilolo Kijakazi Government judge Mar. 3, 2023
Clayton P. Zellmer, on behalf of himself and all others similarly situated v. Facebook Inc. Consumer Law judge Feb. 17, 2023
Jamilah Abdul-Haqq v. Permanente Medical Group Inc., et al. Employment Law judge Feb. 10, 2023
Brandon Bebault, Steven Arnold, on behalf of himself and all others similarly situated v. DMG Mori USA Inc., and Does 1-10, inclusive Consumer Law judge Jan. 20, 2023
Natural Grocers, et al. v. Thomas Vilsack, et al. Consumer Law judge Jan. 6, 2023
Faye Myrette-Crosley v. Ditech Financial LLC; Specialized Loan Servicing LLC; and Does 1-100, inclusive Business Law judge Dec. 2, 2022
Treasure Island Former and Current Residents, Andre Patterson, Felita Sample, Including All Parties Listed and Incorporated Herein; and Doe Plaintiffs 1-2,000 on behalf of themselves, and all others similarly situated v. Treasure Island Development Authority, et al. Civil Rights judge Dec. 2, 2022
Cody Meek, Jeremy Barnes and Coryell Ross, on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated v. Skywest Inc., Skywest Airlines Inc. Employment Law judge Nov. 25, 2022
Asians Americans Advancing Justice - Asian Law Caucus v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, et al. Immigration judge Oct. 28, 2022
Twitter Inc. v. VOIP-Pal.com Inc. Intellectual Property judge Oct. 7, 2022
San Francisco International Arts Festival, et al. v. London Breed, et al. Constitutional Law judge Sep. 30, 2022
Tayo Daramola v. Oracle America Inc., on its own behalf and through its wholly owned subsidiaries NetSuite Inc., Oracle Canada Employment Law judge Sep. 23, 2022
Kabita Choudhuri v. Specialised Loan Servicing, et al. Real Property judge Sep. 23, 2022
Kevin E. Bybee, et al. v. International Brotherhood of Teamsters, et al. Labor Law judge Sep. 16, 2022
Linquet Technologies Inc. v. Tile, Inc. Intellectual Property judge Sep. 2, 2022
Taquelia Washington Toland and Georgia Toland, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated v. Nationstar Mortgage LLC, Veripro Solutions Inc., and Does 1 through 20 Consumer Law judge Sep. 2, 2022
Cassandra Hall v. AT&T Umbrella Benefit Plan No. 3 Employment Law judge Aug. 12, 2022
Donald J. Trump, the Forty-Fifth President of the United States; Linda Cuadros and American Conservative Union, individually and on behalf of the class v. Twitter Inc., Jack Dorsey Constitutional Law judge Jul. 29, 2022
Aaron Greenspan v. Omar Qazi, Smick Enterprises Inc., Elon Musk, Tesla Inc. Securities judge Jul. 8, 2022
Linda Parker Pennington, et al., individually, and on behalf of all others similarly situated v. Tetra Tech Inc.; Tetra Tech EC Inc.; Lennar Corporation; HPS1 Block 50 LLC; HPS1 Block 51 LLC; HPS1 Block 53 LLC; HPS1 Block 54 LLC; HPS1 Block 56/57 LLC; HPS Development Co.; Five Point Holdings LLC; Bill Dougherty; Andrew Bolt; Emile Haddad, and Does 1-100 Torts judge May 20, 2022
Joel Alejo v. City Of Palo Alto, City of Mountain View, Dujuan E. Green Civil Rights judge Jan. 21, 2022
Candace Steel, et al. v. Alameda County Sheriff's Office, et al. Civil Rights judge Dec. 10, 2021
In re Stitch Fix Inc. Securities Litigation Securities judge Oct. 29, 2021
Brett Heeger v. Facebook Inc. Constitutional Law judge Feb. 12, 2021
Daniel Norcia, on his own behalf and on behalf of all others similarly situated v. Samsung Telecommunications America LLC, Samsung Electronics America Inc. Consumer Law judge Oct. 30, 2020
Federal Trade Commission v. AH Media Group LLC, Henry Block, Alan Schill, Zanelo LLC Consumer Law judge Sep. 18, 2020
In re Facebook Biometric Information Privacy Litigation Torts judge Aug. 28, 2020
Alex Cannara, Gene A. Nelson v. California Department of Water Resources Director Karla Nemeth, et al. Constitutional Law judge Aug. 7, 2020
Philip Shen, through his Guardian John Shen; Nima Kormi, through his Guardian Ellie Kormi; Michael Bales, through his Guardian Patricia Mingucci; and Kevin Chen, through his Guardian Kai Dong Chen v. Albany Unified School District; Albany High School; Valerie Williams, in her personal and official capacities as Superintendent of the Albany Unified School District; Jeff Anderson, in his personal and official capacities as Principal of Albany High School; Melisa Pfohl, in her personal and official capacities as assistant principal of Albany High School; Suzanne Young, in her personal and official capacities as Instructor at Albany High School, and Does 1-50 Civil Rights judge May 8, 2020
Jerry Jack v. City and County of San Francisco Employment Law judge Mar. 6, 2020
Fidel Joshua v. City and County of San Francisco Employment Law judge Jan. 3, 2020
In re: Capacitors Antitrust Litigation Antitrust judge Nov. 15, 2019
Ecological Rights Foundation v. Federal Emergency Management Agency Environmental Law judge Jul. 5, 2019
James P. Brickman, et al. v. Fitbit, Inc. Consumer Law judge Jun. 14, 2019
Lovely Nakooka and Elva Reyes, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated v. Dollar Tree Stores Inc., and Does 1 - 10, inclusive Employment Law judge May 17, 2019
In re: Capacitors Antitrust Litigation Antitrust judge Feb. 8, 2019
Joel David Kaufman v. M.E. Spearman, et al. Civil Rights judge Feb. 23, 2018
Tommie Lee Jackson v. People of the State of California, et al. Civil Rights judge Feb. 9, 2018
Telesocial Inc. v. Orange S.A., Anne Benrikhi, Dimitri Delmas, Ann Dornier, Olivier Godiniaux, Guillaume Guimond, Fabrice Petesch and Jacques Viel Business Law judge Dec. 15, 2017
Terry Horvath, Jeremy Forsythe, Ronald Johnson, and Fred Montgomery, individually, and on behalf of all others similarly situated v. LG Electronics Mobilecomm USA Inc. Consumer Law Defendant Apr. 12, 2014
Laury Smith v. LG Electronics USA Inc., Sears Holdings Corp. Consumer Law Defendant Apr. 5, 2014
Masimo Corp. v. Tyco Health Care Group LP, Mallinckrodt Inc. Torts Defendant Aug. 6, 2005
Title Court Published
James J. Donato Northern District of California (San Francisco) Sep. 17, 2015
Title Category Published
Let's Talk About Something Else 2: 'Obama' Judges Judges and Judiciary Dec. 3, 2018
Let's Talk About Something Else 1: Kavanaugh Collateral Damage U.S. Supreme Court, Judges and Judiciary Oct. 2, 2018
Case Category Published
Godun v. Justanswer LLC
affirmed
 Consumer Law Apr. 15, 2025
In Re: Ex Parte Application of Gliner
vacated and remanded
 Civil Procedure Apr. 1, 2025
U.S. v. Wilson
concurring
 Criminal Law and Procedure Dec. 19, 2024
Rose Court, LLC v. Select Portfolio Servicing, Inc.
affirmed
 Civil Procedure Oct. 17, 2024
Coastal Environmental Rights Foundation v. Naples Restaurant Group, LLC
dissenting
 Environmental Law Sep. 18, 2024
Abbey v. U.S.
affirmed
 Immunity Aug. 20, 2024
Libitzky v. U.S.
affirmed
 Tax Aug. 5, 2024
John Doe v. Garland
reversed and remanded
 Criminal Law and Procedure Jul. 29, 2024
Zellmer v. Meta Platforms Inc.
affirmed
 Cyber Law Jun. 17, 2024
DZ Reserve v. Meta Platforms, Inc.
affirmed in part
 Civil Procedure Mar. 21, 2024
McBurnie v. RAC Acceptance East LLC
remanded
 Arbitration Mar. 14, 2024
Daramola v. Oracle America, Inc.
affirmed
 Employment Law Feb. 6, 2024
Amended Opinion: Silbersher v. Valeant Pharmaceuticals Int'l
reversed and remanded
 Government Jan. 5, 2024
U.S. v. Fortenberry
author
 Civil Procedure Dec. 26, 2023
Silbersher v. Valeant Pharmaceuticals Int'l
reversed and remanded
 Government Aug. 3, 2023
Chen v. Albany School District
affirmed
 Constitutional Law Dec. 27, 2022
Cannara v. Nemeth
affirmed
 Civil Procedure Jan. 3, 2022
Perez v. Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems Inc.
affirmed
 Civil Procedure May 12, 2020
Patel v. Facebook
affirmed
 Civil Procedure Aug. 9, 2019
Winding Creek Solar LLC v. Carla Peterman
affirmed
 Utilities Jul. 30, 2019
Elmakhzoumi v. Sessions
affirmed
 Immigration Mar. 2, 2018
Case Name Topic Role Published
Ralph Milan and Elizabeth Arnold, on behalf of themselves, those similarly situated and the general public v. Clif Bar & Company Consumer Law judge Feb. 7, 2025
Center for Biological Diversity v. Gina Raimondo, in her official capacity as Secretary of Commerce; National Marine Fisheries Service Environmental Law judge May 10, 2024
The Unity Care Group v. County of Santa Clara, California Civil Rights judge May 10, 2024
In re: Google Play Store Antitrust Litigation Antitrust judge Apr. 5, 2024
Mark Comin v. International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) Contracts judge Mar. 1, 2024
Nathaniel Foster, an Individual; Pamela Foster, an Individual; Nathaniel Foster, Jr., by and through his Conservator Nathaniel Foster; and Natalie Foster, a Minor, by and through her Guardian ad Litem, Pamela Foster v. United Airlines Holdings, Inc., a Delaware Corporation; United Airlines, Inc., a Delaware Corporation; ExpressJet Airlines LLC, Inc. dba United Express, a Foreign Profit Corporation; DAL Global Services, LLC, a Delaware Limited Liability Corporation Torts judge Dec. 1, 2023
MetroPCS California, LLC v. Alice Reynolds, et al. Government judge Nov. 10, 2023
Timothy Smith Jr. v. AT&T Fidelity Investments Employment Law judge Oct. 6, 2023
In re: Google Play Developer Antitrust Litigation Antitrust judge Jun. 30, 2023
David Swartz, Cristina Salgado, and Marcelo Muto, on behalf of themselves and those similarly situtated v. The Coca-Cola Company, Bluetriton Brands Inc., and Niagara Bottling Inc. Consumer Law judge Apr. 28, 2023
Kevin Abbey, et al. v. United States of America, Department of the Navy, et al. Personal Injury judge Apr. 28, 2023
Michael Tibbets v. Kilolo Kijakazi Government judge Mar. 3, 2023
Clayton P. Zellmer, on behalf of himself and all others similarly situated v. Facebook Inc. Consumer Law judge Feb. 17, 2023
Jamilah Abdul-Haqq v. Permanente Medical Group Inc., et al. Employment Law judge Feb. 10, 2023
Brandon Bebault, Steven Arnold, on behalf of himself and all others similarly situated v. DMG Mori USA Inc., and Does 1-10, inclusive Consumer Law judge Jan. 20, 2023
Natural Grocers, et al. v. Thomas Vilsack, et al. Consumer Law judge Jan. 6, 2023
Faye Myrette-Crosley v. Ditech Financial LLC; Specialized Loan Servicing LLC; and Does 1-100, inclusive Business Law judge Dec. 2, 2022
Treasure Island Former and Current Residents, Andre Patterson, Felita Sample, Including All Parties Listed and Incorporated Herein; and Doe Plaintiffs 1-2,000 on behalf of themselves, and all others similarly situated v. Treasure Island Development Authority, et al. Civil Rights judge Dec. 2, 2022
Cody Meek, Jeremy Barnes and Coryell Ross, on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated v. Skywest Inc., Skywest Airlines Inc. Employment Law judge Nov. 25, 2022
Asians Americans Advancing Justice - Asian Law Caucus v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, et al. Immigration judge Oct. 28, 2022
Twitter Inc. v. VOIP-Pal.com Inc. Intellectual Property judge Oct. 7, 2022
San Francisco International Arts Festival, et al. v. London Breed, et al. Constitutional Law judge Sep. 30, 2022
Tayo Daramola v. Oracle America Inc., on its own behalf and through its wholly owned subsidiaries NetSuite Inc., Oracle Canada Employment Law judge Sep. 23, 2022
Kabita Choudhuri v. Specialised Loan Servicing, et al. Real Property judge Sep. 23, 2022
Kevin E. Bybee, et al. v. International Brotherhood of Teamsters, et al. Labor Law judge Sep. 16, 2022
Linquet Technologies Inc. v. Tile, Inc. Intellectual Property judge Sep. 2, 2022
Taquelia Washington Toland and Georgia Toland, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated v. Nationstar Mortgage LLC, Veripro Solutions Inc., and Does 1 through 20 Consumer Law judge Sep. 2, 2022
Cassandra Hall v. AT&T Umbrella Benefit Plan No. 3 Employment Law judge Aug. 12, 2022
Donald J. Trump, the Forty-Fifth President of the United States; Linda Cuadros and American Conservative Union, individually and on behalf of the class v. Twitter Inc., Jack Dorsey Constitutional Law judge Jul. 29, 2022
Aaron Greenspan v. Omar Qazi, Smick Enterprises Inc., Elon Musk, Tesla Inc. Securities judge Jul. 8, 2022
Linda Parker Pennington, et al., individually, and on behalf of all others similarly situated v. Tetra Tech Inc.; Tetra Tech EC Inc.; Lennar Corporation; HPS1 Block 50 LLC; HPS1 Block 51 LLC; HPS1 Block 53 LLC; HPS1 Block 54 LLC; HPS1 Block 56/57 LLC; HPS Development Co.; Five Point Holdings LLC; Bill Dougherty; Andrew Bolt; Emile Haddad, and Does 1-100 Torts judge May 20, 2022
Joel Alejo v. City Of Palo Alto, City of Mountain View, Dujuan E. Green Civil Rights judge Jan. 21, 2022
Candace Steel, et al. v. Alameda County Sheriff's Office, et al. Civil Rights judge Dec. 10, 2021
In re Stitch Fix Inc. Securities Litigation Securities judge Oct. 29, 2021
Brett Heeger v. Facebook Inc. Constitutional Law judge Feb. 12, 2021
Daniel Norcia, on his own behalf and on behalf of all others similarly situated v. Samsung Telecommunications America LLC, Samsung Electronics America Inc. Consumer Law judge Oct. 30, 2020
Federal Trade Commission v. AH Media Group LLC, Henry Block, Alan Schill, Zanelo LLC Consumer Law judge Sep. 18, 2020
In re Facebook Biometric Information Privacy Litigation Torts judge Aug. 28, 2020
Alex Cannara, Gene A. Nelson v. California Department of Water Resources Director Karla Nemeth, et al. Constitutional Law judge Aug. 7, 2020
Philip Shen, through his Guardian John Shen; Nima Kormi, through his Guardian Ellie Kormi; Michael Bales, through his Guardian Patricia Mingucci; and Kevin Chen, through his Guardian Kai Dong Chen v. Albany Unified School District; Albany High School; Valerie Williams, in her personal and official capacities as Superintendent of the Albany Unified School District; Jeff Anderson, in his personal and official capacities as Principal of Albany High School; Melisa Pfohl, in her personal and official capacities as assistant principal of Albany High School; Suzanne Young, in her personal and official capacities as Instructor at Albany High School, and Does 1-50 Civil Rights judge May 8, 2020
Jerry Jack v. City and County of San Francisco Employment Law judge Mar. 6, 2020
Fidel Joshua v. City and County of San Francisco Employment Law judge Jan. 3, 2020
In re: Capacitors Antitrust Litigation Antitrust judge Nov. 15, 2019
Ecological Rights Foundation v. Federal Emergency Management Agency Environmental Law judge Jul. 5, 2019
James P. Brickman, et al. v. Fitbit, Inc. Consumer Law judge Jun. 14, 2019
Lovely Nakooka and Elva Reyes, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated v. Dollar Tree Stores Inc., and Does 1 - 10, inclusive Employment Law judge May 17, 2019
In re: Capacitors Antitrust Litigation Antitrust judge Feb. 8, 2019
Joel David Kaufman v. M.E. Spearman, et al. Civil Rights judge Feb. 23, 2018
Tommie Lee Jackson v. People of the State of California, et al. Civil Rights judge Feb. 9, 2018
Telesocial Inc. v. Orange S.A., Anne Benrikhi, Dimitri Delmas, Ann Dornier, Olivier Godiniaux, Guillaume Guimond, Fabrice Petesch and Jacques Viel Business Law judge Dec. 15, 2017
Terry Horvath, Jeremy Forsythe, Ronald Johnson, and Fred Montgomery, individually, and on behalf of all others similarly situated v. LG Electronics Mobilecomm USA Inc. Consumer Law Defendant Apr. 12, 2014
Laury Smith v. LG Electronics USA Inc., Sears Holdings Corp. Consumer Law Defendant Apr. 5, 2014
Masimo Corp. v. Tyco Health Care Group LP, Mallinckrodt Inc. Torts Defendant Aug. 6, 2005
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