Sean P. Flynn
How Judge Flynn rules, drawn from 15 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Flynn
Sean P. Flynn has served as a United States Magistrate Judge in the Tampa Division of the Middle District of Florida since August 2018. A graduate of Emory University School of Law, he previously served as an Assistant United States Attorney and Deputy Chief of the district’s Civil Division.
Judge Flynn's practices and standing orders
Rules for cases before Judge Flynn, 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
Motions
Label emergency motions clearly in the caption.
“Emergency motions should be clearly and conspicuously designated as such in the caption of the motion.”
Discovery
For a deposition dispute that would prevent continuation, contact chambers to ask whether Judge Flynn can consider the issue by telephone.
“If a dispute arising during a deposition that would practically prevent the deposition from continuing, counsel may contact chambers to ascertain whether Judge Flynn is available to consider the disputed issue by telephone.”
Trial
Submit a single jointly proposed set of jury instructions and a joint verdict form.
“Parties shall submit a single jointly proposed set of jury instructions in order of presentation to the jury together with a jointly proposed jury verdict form.”
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 Flynn decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In Wynn v. Commissioner of Social Security, Flynn remanded because the administrative law judge had not adequately explained the supportability and consistency of a longtime treating psychologist's opinion under the revised medical opinion regulations.
“In sum, because the ALJ failed to adequately address the supportability and consistency factors in evaluating the opinion of Dr. Nichols, the Court finds that the ALJ’s decision is not supported by substantial evidence.”
In Grant v. Commissioner of Social Security, Flynn affirmed the benefits denial after finding substantial evidence supported the residual functional capacity. He rejected the claimant's request to reweigh evidence that might support a different capacity finding.
“Plaintiff’s argument here is, in essence, that there is evidence in the record that could support a different RFC determination. This is outside of the scope of this Court’s review.”
A medical opinion stated only in general or qualitative terms may receive less weight when it does not translate the claimant's condition into specific work-related functional limits.
“It is appropriate to assign less weight to medical opinions that are vague and fail to provide a function-by-function assessment of the claimant’s ability to perform work related activity.”
In Storch v. Commissioner of Social Security, Flynn affirmed the benefits denial after finding the record contained sufficient mental health evidence for the administrative law judge's decision. The claimant's proposed additional functional assessment was speculative and did not identify a prejudicial gap.
“Plaintiff’s argument thus essentially asks this Court to reweigh the evidence in this matter based on future speculative evidence and fails to demonstrate a clear evidentiary gap justifying remand.”
In Jones v. Burch, Flynn declined to exclude crash photographs and video before trial because the defendants’ negligence admission still left causation and damages contested.
“because causation and damages are contested, the mechanics of the crash and any resulting potential for injury is still at issue.”
Cautions
A Federal Tort Claims Act claimant seeking to excuse a late federal filing must identify an extraordinary circumstance for equitable tolling. In the selected case, disputing a clear mailed denial notice did not satisfy that burden.
“they cite to no specific circumstance justifying equitable tolling beyond the ‘ambiguous and fatally flawed Final Notice.’ (Doc. 17 at 4–5).”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“As the Administrative Law Judge's ('ALJ') decision was based on substantial evidence and employed proper legal standards, the Commissioner's decision is affirmed.”
“After reviewing the administrative record and the parties' arguments, the undersigned finds that the Administrative Law Judge's ('ALJ') decision is supported by substantial evidence. ... 1. The decision of the Commissioner is affirmed.”
“Based on a review of the record, the briefs, and the applicable law, the Commissioner's decision is REVERSED and REMANDED under sentence four of 42 U.S.C. 405(g).”
“OPINION AND ORDER. The decision of the Commissioner is affirmed. The Clerk is directed to enter final judgment in favor of the Defendant and close the case.”
“Plaintiff’s Unopposed Petition for Attorney’s Fees (Doc. 25) is GRANTED.”
“The decision of the Commissioner is affirmed.”
“Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss (Doc. 14) is GRANTED.”
“The decision of the Commissioner is affirmed.”
“The decision of the Commissioner is reversed and remanded for further consideration”
“The decision of the Commissioner is affirmed.”
“Plaintiff’s Renewed Motion for Leave to Serve Narrow Preliminary Third-Party Discovery and for Extension of Service Deadline (Doc. 11) is GRANTED.”
“Plaintiff’s Motion for Reconsideration (Doc. 7) is DENIED.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
The reviewed matters provide descriptive caseload context rather than a complete census. No authoritative case-disposition baseline was available for the period.
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 Flynn: 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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