Michael P. Shea
How Judge Shea rules, drawn from 33 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Shea
Michael P. Shea is a judge of the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut. Appointed by President Barack Obama, Judge Shea received a commission on December 7, 2012.
Judge Shea's practices and standing orders
Rules for cases before Judge Shea, as published on the court's website (checked October 9, 2026). Judges revise these often, so confirm the current version on the court's site before you file.
Key rules
Motions
File a formal motion in place of a letter brief.
“Judge Shea does not allow letter briefs. Formal motions should be filed.”
Motions
Do not file sur-reply briefs.
“Judge Shea does not allow sur-reply briefs.”
Discovery
Seek a letter or conference call to resolve a discovery dispute before filing a discovery motion or brief.
“Judge Shea will attempt to resolve discovery disputes through the submission of brief letters and/or by conference call, and does not permit the filing of discovery motions or briefs before the call.”
Standing orders for every case in this court
Orders the court applies to all of its cases, whichever judge has them, as published on the court's website (checked October 9, 2026).
How Judge Shea decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In the air ambulance dispute, Shea dismissed the insurers’ counterclaims after finding that federal law permitted the challenged practice of submitting separate claims, bringing that conduct within a state consumer protection exemption.
“permits the bifurcation of claims and Aetna’s bifurcation”
In a medical device suit, Shea allowed a design defect theory to proceed based on allegations that a cystoscope sheath fractured during ordinary use and that the maker had received similar complaints.
“cystoscope sheath’s unexpected fracture during Mr. Apuzzo’s procedure”
Procedural preferences
In a contract and fraud suit, Shea rejected a venue challenge after finding that significant events material to the claims occurred in Connecticut.
“Gal-Invent has demonstrated a prima facie case that venue is proper in this District under”
Cautions
In the medical device suit, Shea dismissed the manufacturing defect theory because the complaint relied on the product’s fracture without identifying a concrete manufacturing deviation.
“Such conclusory, circular pleading is insufficient to state a manufacturing defect claim.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“For the reasons set forth above, the [ECF Nos. 28 & 30] motions to dismiss are GRANTED; the motions to strike [ECF Nos. 45 & 46] are GRANTED... Accordingly, the Clerk is directed to close this case.”
“the [ECF Nos. 28 & 30] motions to dismiss are GRANTED”
“the motions to strike [ECF Nos. 45 & 46] are GRANTED”
“the [ECF No. 39] motion for change of venue is DENIED”
“Because this Court lacks subject matter jurisdiction to review the Plaintiff's ADA challenge and because I decline to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over the Plaintiff's CFEPA claim, I GRANT the motion to dismiss without prejudice.”
“In short, Shafik does not allege facts sufficient to state a plausible claim against US Auto, and so I grant US Auto's motion to dismiss.”
“I deny without prejudice AMLGH's motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(5) and Rule 12(b)(2). ... As such, I deny AMLGH's motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6).”
“Though Shafik served ASD and Miller past the Court's deadline of July 13, 2023, given Shafik's pro se status, I must afford him 'special leniency.' As such, I deny as moot ASD's and Miller's motions to dismiss.”
“For the foregoing reasons, Defendants' motion for summary judgment [ECF No. 46] is GRANTED. The Clerk is directed to enter judgment and close this case.”
“Because there is evidence from which a reasonable jury could find that Mylan participated in conspiracies related to Bromocriptine, Phenytoin, and Pio Met, as well as the overarching conspiracy, the Motion for Summary Judgment is denied.”
“Because probable cause is a complete defense to a claim of malicious prosecution, the defendant's motion for summary judgment is GRANTED.”
“Dr. Cronin-Vorih's motion for summary judgment is therefore DENIED.”
“I GRANT summary judgment to Breitling as to all remaining claims in the case and instruct the Clerk to close this case ... Because Solid 21's Fifth and Eighth Causes of Action are either trademark infringement claims or wholly derivative of trademark infringement claims, and because I have granted Breitling summary judgment on its fair use defense to trademark infringement, I grant summary judgment to Breitling as to the Fifth and Eighth Causes of Action as well.”
“For the reasons discussed above, the motion for a new trial (ECF No. 144) is DENIED.”
“Mr. Nielsen's motion to dismiss Ms. Van Leuven's counterclaims (ECF No. 127) is DENIED, reflecting the Court's oral denial of the motion on October 12, 2017.”
“For the reasons stated, I GRANT the motion for summary judgment for (1) all claims against Officer Yott; (2) the claims against the unidentified officer defendants; (3) the failure to intervene claims ... and (4) the plaintiff's Monell claim against the Town and Chief Sferrazza. The claims that remain for a jury to decide are: (1) § 1983 excessive force against Officer Worden; ...”
“For the reasons above, I grant the motion to dismiss (ECF No. 23) in part and I deny it in part. The case will proceed on Count III only.”
“For the foregoing reasons, the motion to dismiss is denied.”
Pending matters in the official report
Reported by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts under the Civil Justice Reform Act, as of March 31, 2026.
| Motions pending more than six months | 0 |
| Bench trials submitted more than six months | 0 |
| Bankruptcy appeals pending more than six months | 0 |
| Social Security appeals pending more than six months | 0 |
| Civil cases pending more than three years | 6 |
| Report | Motions over six months | Cases over three years |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | 0 | 6 |
| Sep 2025 | 0 | 7 |
| Mar 2025 | 7 | 5 |
| Sep 2024 | 0 | 5 |
| Mar 2024 | 0 | 6 |
| Sep 2023 | 0 | 5 |
| Mar 2023 | 0 | 6 |
| Sep 2022 | 1 | 3 |
| Mar 2022 | 0 | 6 |
| Sep 2021 | 1 | 4 |
| Mar 2021 | 0 | 5 |
| Sep 2020 | 0 | 2 |
A snapshot on that date: matters listed may since have been decided or reassigned. A motion referred to a magistrate judge is counted for both judges. Motions in multidistrict litigation, section 2255 cases and Social Security appeals are not counted, and a very large three-year count is generally a multidistrict docket. Source: Appendix A of the report (PDF); about the report.
How long civil cases take in this court
For the whole of U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut, not for Judge Shea: median time from filing to disposition of the civil cases the court closed in the 12 months ending September 30, 2025, as reported by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.
| Cases | Median time | |
|---|---|---|
| All civil cases closed | 1,471 | 6.9 months |
| Closed with no court action | 227 | 3 months |
| Closed before pretrial | 833 | 5.6 months |
| Closed during or after pretrial | 401 | 13.8 months |
| Closed during trial | 10 | 36.4 months |
| 12 months ending | Cases closed | Median time |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 1,471 | 6.9 months |
| Sep 2024 | 1,501 | 8.1 months |
| Sep 2023 | 1,468 | 8.4 months |
| Sep 2022 | 1,598 | 9 months |
| Sep 2021 | 1,456 | 8.9 months |
| Sep 2020 | 1,683 | 9.2 months |
| Sep 2019 | 1,877 | 9.2 months |
The table leaves out prisoner petitions, land condemnations, deportation reviews, recovery of overpayments and enforcement of judgments, and reports no median for fewer than 10 cases. A district that closed a large multidistrict litigation in the period shows very large counts and long medians for that year. Source: Table C-5, U.S. District Courts (spreadsheet).
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