Brian Jordan Davis
How Judge Davis rules, drawn from 26 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Davis
Brian Jordan Davis is a judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida. Appointed by President Barack Obama, Judge Davis received a commission on December 26, 2013. Judge Davis assumed senior status on December 30, 2023.
Judge Davis's practices and standing orders
Rules for cases before Judge Davis, as published on the court's website (checked October 8, 2026). Judges revise these often, so confirm the current version on the court's site before you file.
Key rules
Filing
Provide a courtesy copy promptly to chambers when a filing exceeds 25 pages including exhibits.
“A courtesy copy of any document filed that exceeds 25 pages in length (including exhibits) must be provided to chambers as promptly as possible after the document’s electronic filing, via United States mail or other reliable service.”
Motions
File sentencing motions and memoranda at least seven business days before the hearing absent extraordinary circumstances.
“Absent extraordinary circumstances, the court will not consider motions or memoranda that are filed less than seven business days before a sentencing hearing.”
Conferences
Complete mediation in most cases four to six months before the trial term.
“In most cases, mediation is required and should be completed four to six months before the trial term.”
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 10, 2026).
How Judge Davis decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
Federal criminal subject-matter jurisdiction does not depend on a state ceding the physical location of an arrest or offense to the United States. When an indictment charges a valid federal statutory offense, counsel is not ineffective for declining to advance a territorial-enclave argument that does not apply.
“So long as the indictment charges the defendant with violating a valid federal statute as enacted in the United States Code, it alleges an ‘offense against the laws of the United States’ and, thereby, invokes the district court’s subject-matter jurisdiction.”
A generalized objection to a publicly adopted local policy does not establish Article III standing. A taxpayer must identify a concrete and particularized injury; disagreement with a policy's community effects is ordinarily addressed through the political process.
“The outcome Plaintiff seeks, however, must be achieved at the ballot box, not the courthouse.”
A fraud-based effort to vacate an arbitration award must address whether the alleged fraud could have been discovered with due diligence during arbitration. Prior knowledge of the same alleged conduct can defeat that requirement even when fraud is otherwise pleaded with particularity.
“Aetna’s own admission that it knew RP and MBB were engaged in that very act as the reason for the termination of the in-network contract is fatal to Aetna’s position.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“1. Quantum's Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs Class Action Complaint [Doc. 9] is GRANTED. 2. This case is DISMISSED with prejudice. 3. The Clerk of the Court is DIRECTED to terminate any pending motions as moot and to close the file.”
“The Court holds that these findings were not clearly erroneous... After careful review, this Court affirms.”
“For the foregoing reasons, the Bankruptcy Court's Order, sustaining the Appellee'/Debtors' Objection to PaeTec's Claim Number 19, and disallowance of Claim Number 19, is due to be affirmed.”
“Claimant Scott Stern’s Motion for Summary Judgment [Doc. 37] is GRANTED.”
“The United States’ Motion for Summary Judgment [Doc. 39] is DENIED.”
“GEICO's Motion for Summary Judgment and Incorporated Memorandum of Law (Doc. 53) is GRANTED. The Clerk of the Court is directed to enter judgment in favor of GEICO, and against Ethel Cousin.”
“Defendants' Motions to Dismiss [Docs. 141, 145, 154, and 156] is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part as set forth herein... Plaintiffs' claims of fraudulent concealment against United Technologies Corporation, IMO Industries, and Shell Oil Company are DISMISSED with prejudice.”
“Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment on Declaratory Action (Doc. 44) is GRANTED. The Clerk of the Court shall enter judgment that reflects that Plaintiff is entitled to uninsured motorists benefits up to the sum of two million ($2,000,000) dollars provided by insurance policy AV2-651-290229-021.”
“Defendant's Response in Opposition and Cross Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 59) is DENIED.”
“The Motion to Hear Additional Evidence (Doc. 51) filed by Plaintiff J.C., a minor, by and through his next friend, M.C., is DENIED.”
“the ‘Motion to Exclude Opinions of Proposed Expert Joseph Gagnon (Daubert Motion) and Request for Oral Argument’ (Doc. 53) is DENIED as moot.”
“ORDER denying the petition, dismissing the action with prejudice, with instructions to the Clerk; denying a certificate of appealability, with instructions to the Clerk.”
“ORDER granting 49 Defendants' Motion for summary judgment; dismissing Plaintiff's claims without prejudice, with instructions to the Clerk.”
“ORDER granting 112 Motion for summary judgment only to the extent that Plaintiff's conspiracy claim is hereby dismissed, denying 112 motion for summary judgment in all other respects; granting 113 Motion for summary judgment only to the extent that Plaintiff's conspiracy claim is hereby dismissed, denying 113 motion for summary judgment in all other respects; granting 126 Motion to Strike, Plaintiff's exhibits B, C, D, & E are hereby stricken.”
“ORDER denying 143 motion for involuntary dismissal with prejudice, dismissing the case without prejudice, with instructions to the Clerk.”
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 | 0 |
| Report | Motions over six months | Cases over three years |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2023 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2023 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2022 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2022 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2021 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2021 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2020 | 0 | 0 |
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 Middle District of Florida, not for Judge Davis: 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 | 6,896 | 5.5 months |
| Closed with no court action | 49 | 3.5 months |
| Closed before pretrial | 6,492 | 5.2 months |
| Closed during or after pretrial | 319 | 14.7 months |
| Closed during trial | 36 | 24.2 months |
| 12 months ending | Cases closed | Median time |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 6,896 | 5.5 months |
| Sep 2024 | 7,115 | 5.6 months |
| Sep 2023 | 6,777 | 5.5 months |
| Sep 2022 | 6,781 | 6.7 months |
| Sep 2021 | 6,749 | 6.2 months |
| Sep 2020 | 6,392 | 6.2 months |
| Sep 2019 | 6,830 | 5.7 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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