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THE ROBING ROOM
where judges are judged
Hon. Gary A. Feess
District judge
C.D.Cal.
9th Circuit
Average Rating:
4.9
-
16
rating(s)
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Ratings:
What others have rated
Hon. Gary A. Feess
evaluator
ID
date
Temp* Sch* Indu* Comp* Punct* Ev-Cv* Ev-Cr* Flex Bail Crim Settle Trial Sent Coop Average
Civil Litigation - Private
26913
1/2/18
1
2
0
0
0
1
0
7
0
0
0
0
0
0
1.3
Civil Litigation - Private
27817
1/2/18
1
1
1
1
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
Civil Litigation - Private
22012
1/2/14
0
4
4
5
0
4
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
4.3
Criminal Defense Lawyer
13765
1/1/12
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Other
13316
1/2/11
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Civil Litigation - Private
9387
1/2/09
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Civil Litigation - Private
5850
1/2/08
7
9
9
9
8
9
9
8
0
0
0
0
0
0
8.6
Civil Litigation - Private
5413
1/2/07
5
4
8
0
9
3
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
5.8
Civil Litigation - Private
5359
1/2/07
5
1
0
1
10
1
0
5
0
0
0
0
0
0
3.6
Criminal Defense Lawyer
2579
1/1/06
10
10
10
10
10
0
10
10
5
5
0
5
5
0
10
category average
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Items marked with (*) are averaged into the displayed overall rating
Fam
Par
Qu-Arg
At-Arg
Sch
Cri
Civ
Lab
Imm
How familiar are you with the work of this judge? (1=Not at all familiar,10=Extremely familiar)
Participates in Oral Argument (1=Rarely,10=Always)
Quality of Questions During Oral Argument (1=Poor,10=Extremely insightful)
Attitude during oral argument (1=Consistently inappropriate,10=Consistently respectful)
Scholarship as reflected in Opinions (1=Poor,10=Outstanding)
General Inclination in Criminal Appeals (1=Strongly ProGovernment,10=Strongly ProDefense)
General Inclination in Civil Rights Appeals (1=Strongly Pro-Defendant,10=Strongly ProPlaintiff)
General Inclination in Labor Law Appeals (1=Strongly ProEmployee,10=Strongly ProEmployer)
General Inclination in Immigration Appeals (1=Strongly ProImmigrant,10=Strongly ProGov.)
evaluator
ID
date
Fam Par Qu-Arg At-Arg Sch Cri Civ Lab Imm
Civil Litigation - Private
26913
1/2/18
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Civil Litigation - Private
27817
1/2/18
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Civil Litigation - Private
22012
1/2/14
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Criminal Defense Lawyer
13765
1/1/12
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Other
13316
1/2/11
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Civil Litigation - Private
9387
1/2/09
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Civil Litigation - Private
5850
1/2/08
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Civil Litigation - Private
5413
1/2/07
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Civil Litigation - Private
5359
1/2/07
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Criminal Defense Lawyer
2579
1/1/06
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
category average
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Non-lawyer Rating
(if applicable)
evaluator
ID
date
Rating
Litigant
23013
1/1/15
1
Other
13217
1/3/11
1
Other
12684
1/2/11
1
Other
10482
1/2/10
2
Litigant
4644
1/2/07
9
Other
3845
1/2/07
4
category average
-
Temp*
Sch*
Indu*
Comp*
Punct*
Ev-Cv*
Ev-Cr*
Flex
Bail
Crim
Settle
Trial
Sent
Coop
Temperament (1=Awful 10=Excellent)
Scholarship (1=Awful 10=Excellent)
Industriousness (1=Not at all industrious 10=Highly industrious)
Ability to Handle Complex Litigation (1=Awful 10=Excellent)
Punctuality (1=Chronically Late 10=Always on Time)
Evenhandedness in Civil Litigation (1=Demonstrates Bias 10=Entirely Evenhanded)
Evenhandedness in Criminal Litigation (1=Demonstrates Bias 10=Entirely Evenhanded)
Flexibility in Scheduling (1=Completely Inflexible 10=Very Flexible)
General Inclination Regarding Bail (1=Pro-Defense 10=Pro-Government)
General Inclination in Criminal Cases Pre-Trial (1=Pro-Defense 10=Pro-Government)
Involvement in Civil Settlement Discussions (1=Least Involved 10=Most Involved)
General Inclination in Criminal Cases Trial (1=Pro-Defense 10=Pro-Government)
General Inclination in Criminal Cases Sentencing (1=Pro-Defense 10=Pro-Government)
Typical Discount Off Guidelines for Cooperators (1=10% 10=100%)
comments1
Comments:
What others have said about
Hon. Gary A. Feess
Civil Litigation - Private
comment #:
26913
rating:
1.3
Vindictive is the best word to describe him. He ruled against my client. We appealed. 9th Cir. reversed. I applied for statutory attorney fees (ERISA). He denied. At the same time I had another case before him. He granted my client judgment. I applied for statutory attorney fees. He cut them by 2/3 and made up reasons to justify the cut. He is a disgrace.
1/2/18, 9:29 PM
Civil Litigation - Private
comment #:
27817
rating:
1
NO ONE should ever use Feess for arbitration, mediation or anything else. He is totally incompetent.
1/2/18, 11:16 AM
Litigant
comment #:
23013
rating:
0
Admitted that the other side violated their own policies and then ruled against my case. Which was then overturned in the 9th District Court. In the 9th District Court ruling this statement was made, 'We conclude that the district court erred in dismissing Hoffman's claim on summary judgment because she is entitled to a second medical opinion and a fully developed record resulting therefrom. Accordingly, we REVERSE and REMAND so that the district court can remand to the Plan for further proceedings consistent with this opinion
1/1/15, 2:16 PM
Civil Litigation - Private
comment #:
22012
rating:
4.3
Generally decides matters on the papers, so I've never actually argued a motion before him. Takes things off-calendar the Friday before. I have to agree with the comments that Fees appears to judge the parties at the outset, and if your client is on the wrong end of that assessment, you do not seem to get a fair shake. That's the way it was in my case, and apparently others feel the same way. This judge was more willing to reach what he thought was the right outcome regardless of the legal niceties that would derail that outcome. We'll see how he fares on appeal.
1/2/14, 12:57 AM
Criminal Defense Lawyer
comment #:
13765
rating:
0
Wild vs. Heroes case update. Tim Kring the creator of Heroes is in yet another Federal Lawsuit for Copyright Infringement. Judge Feess dismissed Wild's lawsuit against Kring and allowed Kring to walk away, just to now have Kring once again in the same fashion, commit copyright theft against another writer. This time the writer was a grandfather going to see his sick grandaughter in the hospital. A doctor who knew Kring offered to give the grandfather's published novel to Kring. Sadly the grandaughter died. I'm sure, the grandfather's first thought was, to hope Kring would take his story use it, and not credit the grandfather, just so that the grandfather, who had just lost his grandaughter, could hire a lawyer to sue Kring. Unreal. This now makes THREE FEDERAL LAWSUITS Against Kring. At some point, it would be nice to have our Federal Courts stop this serial copyright infringer (Tim Kring) from stealing writer's registered stories. One time? Two Times? NOW THREE TIMES? When is enough... enough? We asking for the Federal Judges to please give us justice. We are not corporations, but we are U.S. Citizens. Please do the right thing. If this was a person who three times was brought before the Federal Courts for some other crime, the courts would take notice.
1/1/12, 7:49 PM
Other
comment #:
13316
rating:
0
Wild vs. Heroes case which was so obvious, that the Copyright Office stated that it was indeed infringement, yet Judge Feess amazingly saw no similarity at all. Either way... this case has led to changes for every other writer that seeks justice against Copyright Infringement by a Corporate Bully like NBC. So thank you Judge Feess NBC and Mrs Title. This case has led to Congress and the Copyright Office demanding an Inquiry. I'm happy to say that I had meetings with the Copyright Office and the FBI in August 2011 that helped bring this all about. You don't mess with a man's family and livelihood. Uphold the constitution, not Corporate interests. .....[redacted by editor]
1/2/11, 8:40 AM
Other
comment #:
13217
rating:
0
This judge has issued a Corporate Judgment and the public has the right to know.
1/3/11, 12:06 AM
Other
comment #:
12684
rating:
0
In a recent case Jazan Wild v. NBC / Heroes, judge Feess dismissed the case without even a summary judgment. Matters of fact are suppose to be decided by a jury not a judge. Steven T. Lowe recently published an article titled 'Death Of Copyright' in which the article states, 'that Copyright Infringement claims against motion picture studios and television net-works, for all intents and purposes, are dead. Of the 48 (now over 50) copyright infringement cases against studios or networks that resulted in a ?nal judgment within the Second and Ninth Circuits (and the district courts within those circuits) in the last two decades, the studios and networks prevailed in all of them—and nearly always on motions for summary judgment. In fact, in the last 20 years, only two publicly available copyright infringement cases (published or unpublished) against studios or networks proceeded to jury trial—with verdicts for the defendants.' This is who judge Feess allowed to get by with copyright infringement... 'Aron Coleite (Heroes Writer) ... Using Copyrighted Material For So-Called Inspiration' http://www.nbc.com/heroes/video/aron-coleite/667103/ Tim Kring 'We’ll take an idea from the guy who gets our coffee, you know?' http://www.avclub.com/articles/tim-kring,37975/ We had a storyboardist from Heroes tell us how that they were told to rip ' The Fly' and given comic books with post-it notes showing which panels to rip. That's not influence... That's stealing. They will never know, the joy of calling in ones spouse or family to first read something one wrote. To wait eagerly for a response. To be proud when the story is first published, and hits the shelves. All along knowing, I wrote that. I fought for that. I'm proud that I took a stand against Corporate Justice. JAZAN WILD Here is a pdf of the Heroes Storyboards, 'The Fly' rip off, and others properties being used without the consent of the copyright owners: http://www.jazanwild.com/HEROES_WILD_LAWSUIT/WILD_HEROES_READY_FOR_COURT.pdf Here's some of the judge's bias comments put up against the facts: http://www.jazanwild.com/HEROES_APPEAL/HEROES_WILD_ADDRESS_ORDER.pdf In a decision against Rihanna, Judge Scheindlin, decided that LaChapelle's (Photographer) selection and orchestration of props and the way he controlled 'angles, poses and lighting' do rise to elements that can be copyrighted. However, Judge Feess looked at the evidence in the pdf's and found nothing similar. One judge rules correctly, and one judge does not. (When a major network or studio is involved.) http://kimoracochran.com/rihanna-sued-by-photographer-dave-lachapelle-for-copyright-infringement/ After looking at the pdf's... I ask, if that is not copyright infringement, what is? When should one defend his copyright?
1/2/11, 10:37 AM
Other
comment #:
10482
rating:
0
Judge Feess worked for the United States Attorney's Office and often appears predisposed in their favor. Used to be the Chief Assistant United States Attorney in Los Angeles. Difficult to say who he still knows there and who he still talks to especially about cases. Isn't this a conflict of interest?
1/2/10, 5:48 AM
Civil Litigation - Private
comment #:
9387
rating:
0
The man is terrible and should be removed from the bench. We had a case before him where one of the defendants admitted to and described a significant fraud scheme, and tied in the other defendants. Feess managed to decide against us, probably because a large LA law firm represented the principal defendants. He is a classic example of judges—especially federal judges—who are egotistical, callous, mean-spirited, power-hungry, arrogant, self-righteous, condescending and incompetent.
1/2/09, 11:28 PM
Civil Litigation - Private
comment #:
5850
rating:
8.6
An extremely intelligent, hardworking, even-handed judge. It is a pleasure appearing before him, even if he can be rather intimidating at hearings. He seems to read everything. Make sure you know your case backwards and forwards and you should be fine.
1/2/08, 2:29 AM
Civil Litigation - Private
comment #:
5413
rating:
5.8
Judge Feess seemed to form an opinion about the parties at the outset and was unwilling to change that view, which colored his view of the evidence. Could be more open minded.
1/2/07, 10:20 AM
Civil Litigation - Private
comment #:
5359
rating:
3.6
Gary Feess demonstrated a clear bias against my client. He decided at the beginning of the litigation that he did not like my client, and all of his decisions after that were based on his personal dislike of my client, rather than his adherence to the law. His decisions in the case made absolutely no sense under the law and butchered constitutional law beyond belief.
1/2/07, 7:52 AM
Litigant
comment #:
4644
rating:
0
Brilliant, excellent, extremely-hardworking judge. I wish they all were like him. He should be cloned.
1/2/07, 8:23 PM
Other
comment #:
3845
rating:
0
1/2/07, 1:48 AM
Criminal Defense Lawyer
comment #:
2579
rating:
10
I have had many matters in front of Judge Feess. He is just and open to both sides.
1/1/06, 2:14 AM
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