Sheri Polster Chappell
How Judge Chappell decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
Reads statutes closely and textually, declining to expand a narrowly drafted consumer-protection statute beyond its terms.
“Defendant Dyck-O'Neal, Inc.'s Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings (Doc. 87) is GRANTED. The Clerk of Court is DIRECTED to enter judgment accordingly ... and close the file.”
Procedural preferences
In products-liability cases, dismisses claims that fail Rule 9(b) particularity or lack privity while sustaining adequately pleaded design and failure-to-warn claims, granting leave to replead.
“The Motion is GRANTED as to Counts V-XI, and those Counts are DISMISSED. The Motion is DENIED in all other respects. [Plaintiff] must file a Second Amended Complaint on or before May 21, 2018 that is consistent with this Opinion and Order.”
At the dismissal stage, she will not rely on a defendant's attached contract when the complaint does not attach it and the plaintiff genuinely disputes its authenticity. Contract-based defenses may need a developed record rather than incorporation by reference.
“Plaintiffs do dispute the agreements’ authenticity. ... So the Court will not consider the agreements at this stage.”
Cautions
Enforces ripeness and justiciability at the threshold: an insurer's duty-to-indemnify claim is not ripe until the insured's liability is determined, warranting dismissal without prejudice even on an unopposed motion.
“Plaintiff Mid-Continent Casualty Company's Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 64) and Motion for Default Judgment (Doc. 78) are DENIED. 1. This case is DISMISSED without prejudice.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“Plaintiffs Federal Trade Commission and State of Florida's Motion to Reinstate the Freeze Over Assets Jointly Held by Robert and Olga Cupo and Assets Held by Dennis Cupo (Doc. 194) is DENIED.”
“Defendants' Renewed and Amended Motion to Unfreeze Individual Defendants' and Non-Party Assets and Credit (Doc. 203) is DENIED without prejudice.”
“Defendant Dyck-O'Neal, Inc.'s Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings (Doc. 87) is GRANTED. The Clerk of Court is DIRECTED to enter judgment accordingly ... and close the file.”
“Plaintiff Mid-Continent Casualty Company's Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 64) and Motion for Default Judgment (Doc. 78) are DENIED. 1. This case is DISMISSED without prejudice.”
“Defendant Fay Servicing, LLC's Motion to Dismiss (Doc. 7) and Defendant McCalla, Raymer, Leibert, Pierce, LLC's Motion to Dismiss (Doc. 12) are GRANTED in part and DENIED in part. a. Counts II and IV (FCCPA) are DISMISSED ... Counts I and III (FDCPA) survive at the motion to dismiss stage.”
“Defendant Fay Servicing, LLC's Motion to Dismiss (Doc. 7) and Defendant McCalla, Raymer, Leibert, Pierce, LLC's Motion to Dismiss (Doc. 12) are GRANTED in part and DENIED in part. a. Counts II and IV (FCCPA) are DISMISSED ... Counts I and III (FDCPA) survive.”
“The Motion is GRANTED as to Counts V-XI, and those Counts are DISMISSED. The Motion is DENIED in all other respects. [Plaintiff] must file a Second Amended Complaint on or before May 21, 2018 that is consistent with this Opinion and Order.”
“Defendant’s Amended Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs’ Amended Complaint (Doc. 37) is DENIED.”
“To the extent Defendant incorporates a motion to strike Plaintiffs’ jury demand into its Motion to Dismiss, the motion to strike is denied without prejudice and may be refiled as its own motion.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Median case duration in the sampled dockets: 161 days (N = 7).
Median motion-to-ruling time: 45 days (N = 2).
Many reviewed False Claims Act matters spent long periods under seal while the government considered intervention, so their total durations are poor measures of motion-resolution time. The contested written decisions more often arose from consumer-protection, debt-collection, insurance, and product-liability disputes. This is descriptive context rather than a complete caseload measure.
Put Judge Chappell's record to work
Ezel drafts and answers grounded in this exact profile: how Judge Chappell actually rules, not a generic AI guess.
Opens in Ezel Pro. Every answer is grounded in Judge Chappell's own signed orders and cites them.