Robert G. Klausner

Robert Gary Klausner (born 1941) is an American judge who has been a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California since 2002. He previously served on the Los Angeles County Superior Court.

Early life and education Klausner was born in Los Angeles, California in 1941. He graduated from Loyola High School. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1963 and a Bachelor of Science degree in 1964 from the University of Notre Dame.

Federal judicial service Klausner was nominated by President George W. Bush on July 18, 2002, to be a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California to the seat vacated by William Duffy Keller. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on November 14, 2002, by voice vote, and received his commission the following day. In 2016, Klausner presided over a copyright case filed by the estate of Spirit guitarist Randy Wolfe against Led Zeppelin founders Robert Plant and Jimmy Page. The estate of Wolfe alleged that Wolfe was entitled to a writing credit for the song "Stairway to Heaven"; Klausner ruled in April 2016 that a jury could find "substantial similarity" between the elements of the two songs. In another copyright case arising from the Star Trek fan film Prelude to Axanar, Klausner rejected various motions by both parties in January 2017, setting the stage for a civil trial on the matter to go forward. The parties settled the suit. In August 2017, Klausner dismissed a class-action lawsuit filed by boxing fans who contended that the 2015 Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao boxing match was deceptively marketed because Pacquiao failed to disclose a shoulder injury that affected his performance. Klausner ruled that fans of sporting events have no right to have the event meet their expectations for excitement. In October 2017, Klausner ruled in favor of the plaintiff Coachella Music Festival in a lawsuit against the fledgling "Filmchella" film festival, finding that the names were likely to cause consumer confusion.

On May 1, 2020, Klausner rejected a lawsuit by the United States women's national soccer team's for equal pay, ruling there was no genuine issue of material fact that they were discriminated against in pay.

A 2022 Klausner ruling dismissed a class-action suit against the FBI after the agency seized tens of millions of dollars in cash and valuables from hundreds of safe-deposit boxes. According to the LA Times, Klausner ruled that the raid "did not violate anyone’s constitutional rights" under the Fourth Amendment. The search warrant omitted FBI instructions which included "permanent confiscation of everything inside any box containing at least $5,000 in cash or goods, a senior FBI agent recently testified," the newspaper reported. A plaintiff in the suit said the ruling would “set a dangerous precedent that will allow the FBI and other law enforcement agencies to bypass the 4th Amendment,” which bars “unreasonable searches and seizures.”