James S. Moody Jr.
How Judge Moody rules, drawn from 16 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Moody
James S. Moody, Jr. is a judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida. Appointed by President William J. Clinton, Judge Moody received a commission on July 28, 2000. Judge Moody assumed senior status on March 31, 2014.
Judge Moody's practices and standing orders
Rules for cases before Judge Moody, 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 paper courtesy copies of motions or filings over 20 pages.
“Judge Moody appreciates paper courtesy copies of motions or filings exceeding 20 pages.”
Conferences
Conduct mediation at least six weeks before trial after the referral order, usually entered six to nine months before trial.
“The court enters an order referring a case to mediation six to nine months before trial. The parties must conduct mediation at least six weeks before trial.”
Trial
File proposed jury instructions, verdict forms, and voir dire five days before jury selection.
“Parties should file proposed jury instructions, verdict forms, and voir dire five days before jury selection.”
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 Moody decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In Marmol v. St. Jude Medical Center, Moody held that federal preemption and the lack of a state-law private right of action left the plaintiff without a judicial remedy for his alleged injuries. He granted the dismissal motion while allowing a final opportunity to amend.
“While Plaintiff can petition the FDA to enforce its regulations, in Florida, Plaintiff currently lacks a judicial remedy to compensate him for the injuries he has sustained.”
In Dickens v. GC Services, Moody rejected the defendant’s argument that the Eleventh Circuit had reasoned incorrectly in Bishop. He treated that precedent as binding and directed the defendant to take its disagreement to the appellate court.
“To the extent Defendant argues that the Eleventh Circuit's reasoning in Bishop was mistaken, stare decisis gives this Court no more power than to remind Defendant that it may take the matter up with them.”
Cautions
In Rowe v. Mentor Worldwide, Moody addressed an overlong complaint under Rule 8 and warned that future pleadings departing so far from the rule would be dismissed on a proper motion or returned for repleading. He still examined the pleaded claims and allowed one to proceed.
“But this Order shall serve as notice that this Court will no longer accept pleadings that deviate so drastically from the requirements of Rule 8, and will instead either dismiss the pleading upon proper motion or order a repleader.”
A right to arbitrate can be lost by litigating first. A defendant that waits until the case has been fought on the merits risks a holding that the demand came too late.
“It is clear Defendant waived its right to arbitration, if it even had the right to begin with.”
In Rowe v. Mentor Worldwide, Moody found the plaintiff's copied opposition unhelpful but examined the sufficiency and preemption of each claim rather than granting the dismissal motion solely because the response failed to address the arguments.
“But even though Rowe's counsel failed to provide the Court with a meaningful response, the Court cannot simply grant Mentor's motion.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“The Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment (Dkt. # 24) is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part.”
“Defendant’s Motion for Final Summary Judgment (Dkt. # 17) is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART as stated herein.”
“Defendant HCA Holdings, Inc.’s Motion Requesting Judicial Notice and Incorporated Memorandum of Law (Dkt. # 34) is GRANTED.”
“Motion to Dismiss and Motion to Strike and Supporting Memorandum of Law (Dkt. # 36) is GRANTED in part.”
“The Court strikes Plaintiffs’ class allegations.”
“Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss First Amended Complaint (Doc. 10) is GRANTED.”
“Defendant Sarasota Doctors Hospital, Inc.’s Motion for Summary Judgment (Dkt. 64) is denied.”
“EmCare, Inc.’s Motion for Summary Judgment (Dkt. 66) is granted.”
“Plaintiffs Motion for Remand (Doc. 6) is DENIED.”
“Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss, or Alternatively, Motion to Strike (Doc. 3) is DENIED.”
“Plaintiffs Motion for Final Summary Judgment (Dkt. 23) is GRANTED.”
“Plaintiffs Motion for Summary Judgment on Defendant’s liability (Dkt. 32) is GRANTED.”
“Plaintiffs Motion for Class Certification and Appointment of Class Counsel (Dkt. 27) is DENIED.”
“Defendant Habitat for Humanity of Citrus County, Inc.’s Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 14) is GRANTED.”
“Plaintiff Albert Schaw’s Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 21) is DENIED.”
“All pending motions are denied as moot.”
“Defendant's Rule 12(b)(6) Motion to Dismiss Plaintiff's Complaint (Doc. 11) is GRANTED IN PART.”
“Plaintiff's Renewed Motion for Class Certification and Appointment of *1381Class Counsel (Dkt. 65) is GRANTED.”
“Defendant's Motion to Dismiss or Motion to Dismiss and Compel Arbitration (Dkt. 81) is DENIED.”
“Defendant's Motion to Compel Arbitration and Stay all Court Proceedings (Dkt. 9) is GRANTED.”
“All other pending motions are denied as moot.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Median case duration in the sampled dockets: 101.5 days (N = 20).
Median motion-to-ruling time: 34 days (N = 5).
The sampled two-week window produced twenty assignments spanning prisoner habeas and sentence challenges, consumer finance, employment and disability discrimination, trademark, civil rights, and a withdrawal-of-reference request from a bankruptcy proceeding — a mix typical of a Tampa docket, and one where a large share of the matters close quickly on threshold grounds.
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 United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida, not for Judge Moody: 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).
Draft for Judge Moody with the record in hand
Ezel grounds your drafting and research in this profile: what has persuaded Judge Moody, and what has not, cited to the signed orders.
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