Jill A. Otake
How Judge Otake decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In an employment-discrimination case turning on employee-versus-independent-contractor status, the judge gave weight to the parties' own written characterization of the relationship, plus objective factors like tax treatment and benefits, over the plaintiff's account of day-to-day oversight.
“In the instant case, Defendant and Plaintiff made clear that they were creating an independent contractor relationship: prior to Plaintiff beginning to work at the hospital, the two parties signed two written agreements that expressly characterized Plaintiff as an independent contractor. ... This of course strongly suggests that Plaintiff was an independent contractor.”
Procedural preferences
On a putative class claim involving individualized accommodation decisions, the judge required plaintiffs to affirmatively show why commonality and predominance survived those individualized inquiries, rather than resting on the employer's facially uniform policy.
“Because it is ultimately Plaintiffs’ burden to explain why commonality, typicality, and predominance are met despite these seemingly individualized inquiries, and they have not done so here, the Court agrees with Hawaiian that certification of the ADA subclasses is not warranted despite Hawaiian’s across-the-board reliance on CDC guidance.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“Accordingly, Plaintiff is not protected under Title VII, and the Motion is granted.”
“the Court GRANTS Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment, ECF No. 35, as to Plaintiff’s ADEA claim and declines to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over the remaining state law claims.”
“Based on the foregoing, the Motion is DENIED.”
“In accordance with the foregoing, the Court GRANTS Respondent's Motion to Dismiss Petitioner's Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus Under 28 U.S.C. § 2241. ECF No. 4. The Petition is DISMISSED without leave to amend.”
“Based on the foregoing, the Court HEREBY DENIES Plaintiff's Motion for Reconsideration.”
“The Court accordingly DENIES Defendants' Motion for Partial Reconsideration of Court's Order Granting in Part and Denying in Part Defendants Wayne K. Masuda, Tim Caires, Jeffrey K. Lee, And David Malone's Motion to Dismiss First Amended Complaint. ECF No. 51.”
“The Court therefore DENIES Petitioner's Motion for Certificate of Appealability.”
“DENIES Plaintiffs' Renewed Motion to Exclude Testimony of Defendant's Expert Sarah Butler [ECF No. 175]”
“DENIES AS MOOT Plaintiffs' Renewed Motion to Exclude Testimony of Defendant's Expert Andrew Y. Lemon [ECF No. 176]”
“DENIES AS MOOT Defendant's Motion to Exclude Plaintiffs' Expert Stefan Boedeker [ECF No. 180].”
“In accordance with the foregoing, the Court GRANTS Defendant's Motion because Plaintiffs' negligence and strict liability claims are expressly preempted by the HMTA and HMR.”
“For the reasons set forth above, the Court GRANTS IN PART AND DENIES IN PART (1) the County Defendants' Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs' First Amended Complaint Filed October 12, 2020 and (2) Emlyn H. Higa's, Individually, Motion to Dismiss First Amended Complaint. Count 1 of the FAC is DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE.”
“Seina's Motion is DENIED as moot.”
“Based on the foregoing, Defendant's Motion to Transfer is DENIED.”
“Accordingly, Defendant's Motion to Dismiss Count II is DENIED.”
“Accordingly, Defendant's Motion is DENIED.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
The sampled cases span employment, civil-rights, and personal-injury matters typical of a general district docket; most sampled cases in the window resolved by stipulated dismissal rather than a ruled motion, consistent with a caseload where settlement is common.
Put Judge Otake's record to work
Ezel drafts and answers grounded in this exact profile: how Judge Otake actually rules, not a generic AI guess.
Opens in Ezel Pro. Every answer is grounded in Judge Otake's own signed orders and cites them.