William Terrell Hodges
How Judge Hodges rules, drawn from 6 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
Judge Hodges no longer hears cases. This profile is preserved as a historical record of how they ruled here.
About Judge Hodges
William Terrell Hodges was a judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida. Appointed by President Richard M. Nixon, Judge Hodges received a commission on December 15, 1971. Judge Hodges assumed senior status on May 2, 1999 and served until death on January 4, 2022.
How Judge Hodges decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In Cincinnati Insurance, the court granted the insurer's two summary-judgment motions and denied the insureds' two cross-motions after the underlying liability case reached a verdict.
“ORDER granting 34 Plaintiff Cincinnati Insurance Company's Motion for summary judgment; denying 39 Defendants' Motion for summary judgment; granting 55 Plaintiff's Motion for summary judgment; denying 59 Defendant's Motion for summary judgment. Signed by Senior Judge Wm. Terrell Hodges on 5/13/2016.”
At the pleading stage in American Home Assurance, the court declined to choose governing law or resolve limitations questions where the complaint did not establish where the challenged conduct, injury, and relationship were centered.
“At this stage of the litigation, the record is insufficient to determine precisely where the injury-causing conduct occurred. It is also impossible to determine precisely where the parties’ relationship was centered.”
In Robbins, the court rejected a claim-splitting argument because the parallel state and federal actions involved different defendants and the manufacturer had not shown privity.
“While Florida law may be silent on mutuality of parties, the federal claim splitting doctrine clearly requires identity of parties — and in particular identity of defendants.”
In Myers, conflicting testimony about whether an employment relationship had formed prevented summary judgment on the bankruptcy-discrimination termination claim.
“Such determinations are for the ultimate trier of fact, not for the Court at summary judgment.”
In Snipes, the court treated juror emails about deliberations and pretrial assumptions as internal jury-process evidence rather than an outside influence that could support post-verdict interviews.
“It follows that the Court cannot consider the emails of the jurors — indeed, they could not be considered even if they were proffered under oath in affidavit form.”
In White Construction, the court enforced the written mining agreement against several oral-contract and equitable theories while preserving claims for which the parties' evidence created material factual disputes.
“The Court further concludes that material issues of fact remain in dispute as to at least three of the elements of the Plaintiffs’ claim.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“ORDER granting 34 Plaintiff Cincinnati Insurance Company's Motion for summary judgment;”
“denying 39 Defendants' Motion for summary judgment;”
“granting 55 Plaintiff's Motion for summary judgment;”
“denying 59 Defendant's Motion for summary judgment.”
“Defendant Beacon Industrial Staffing, Inc.’s Motion to Dismiss Pursuant to Federal Rule 12(b)(6) (Doc. 11) is DENIED.”
“Defendant, General Motors De Mexico, S. DE R.L. DE CV.’s Motion to Dismiss or, In the Alternative, Motion to Stay (Doc. 15) is DENIED.”
“Defendant TooJay’s Management Corporation’s Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 27) is GRANTED IN PART AND DENIED IN PART.”
“The Plaintiffs Motion for Partial Summary Judgment (Doc. 34) is DENIED.”
“The motion for permission to interview jurors (Doc. 527) and the second motion for leave to interview jurors (Doc. 530), are both DENIED.”
“The amended motion for a new trial (Doc. 541) is, in all respects, DENIED.”
“The motion of the United States to revoke bail (Doc. 526) is GRANTED”
“the Defendant’s Motion for Bail Pending Rule 33 Motion (Doc. 529) is DENIED.”
“The Defendants’ Motion for Final Summary Judgment (Doc. 80) is GRANTED IN PART AND DENIED IN PART.”
“The Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss Third Amended Complaint (Doc. 50) is DENIED AS MOOT”
“The Parties’ Joint Motions for Status Conference (Docs. 210-211) are DENIED AS MOOT”
Pending matters in the official report
Judge Hodges was last listed in the Civil Justice Reform Act report as of March 31, 2022.
| 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 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.
A historical record
Judge Hodges no longer hears cases. This profile stays available as a record of how they ruled here. If you're preparing for a matter, start from the court's current bench.