Daniel B. Sparr
Judge Sparr no longer hears cases. This profile is preserved as a historical record of how they ruled.
How Judge Sparr decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
He enforced an arbitration agreement absent a demonstrated statutory conflict or contract-revocation ground.
“Agreements to arbitrate must be enforced absent a ground for revocation of the contractual agreement.”
He treated the pleaded and evidentiary substance of a claim, rather than its label, as controlling when applying preemption.
“The court concludes that the true nature of the Plaintiffs Third Claim for Relief is strict liability for failure to warn, a state law claim that is preempted by FI-FRA.”
He accepted wiretap necessity where conventional investigative methods were specifically described and had reached diminishing returns.
“Normal investigative techniques had reached a point of diminishing returns in penetrating the tightly woven, closely guarded cocaine distribution organization.”
Procedural preferences
He applied an objective reasonable-observer test to recusal while recognizing a judge's duty not to withdraw unnecessarily.
“A judge has an affirmative duty not to disqualify himself unnecessarily. The test is whether a reasonable person knowing all the relevant facts would harbor doubts about the judge’s impartiality.”
He permitted limited evidence beyond an administrative record when needed to explain technical material or test whether the agency considered relevant factors.
“a reviewing court may go outside the' administrative record for certain limited purposes”
Cautions
Conclusory affidavits that lack admissible, specific facts did not create a genuine dispute at summary judgment.
“Her affidavit consists merely of conclusory allegations and does not satisfy her burden as the non-movant to come forward with specific facts showing a genuine issue for trial.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“Accordingly, Petitioner’s Motion to Review, Set-Aside or Modify Sentence Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2255 and 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2) is Granted.”
“IT IS ORDERED that the Plaintiffs Motion for Remand is GRANTED.”
“IT IS ORDERED that Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss Claims under Section 1981 is GRANTED and Plaintiff’s claims under Section 1981 are DISMISSED.”
“United’s Motion for Summary Judgment Re: Notification is GRANTED in favor of Defendant United and against Plaintiffs Burger, Ralph Estill, Russell Estill, Hartzer, Kennon, Mach, Mullins, and Vannice on the single remaining claim in the complaint for violation of 49 U.S.C. § 1552(d). 2. United’s Motion for Summary Judgment Re: Notification is DENIED as to Plaintiff Bowdry.”
“For the reasons stated, Plaintiffs Motion for Disqualification of Trial Judge is DENIED.”
“Defendant Wang’s Motion to Dismiss is DENIED.”
“Defendant Cui’s Motion to Dismiss is DENIED.”
“Defendant Wang’s Supplemental Motion to Dismiss is DENIED.”
“IT IS ORDERED that Defendant Erasmo Perez’ Motion to Dismiss for Double Jeopardy is DENIED.”
“Dow’s Motion for Summary Judgment is GRANTED IN PART AND DENIED IN PART.”
“IT IS ORDERED the Defendant's Motion to Stay Proceedings and Compel Arbitration, filed December 14, 1990 and the Defendant's Amended Motion to Stay Proceedings and Compel Arbitration, filed January 3, 1991 are GRANTED.”
“As the decision of the Secretary is based on substantial evidence, the AU’s decision is AFFIRMED and this action is DISMISSED.”
“Accordingly, the Secretary’s decision is AFFIRMED and Plaintiff’s claims and this action are DISMISSED.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Median motion-to-ruling time: 5 days (N = 13).
The ten sampled archival civil cases included three securities matters, two contract cases, two product-liability cases, and one each involving civil rights, banking, and Social Security. Because all were filed before Judge Sparr joined the court, this historical inherited-case slice is not a career-wide caseload profile.
A historical record
Judge Sparr no longer hears cases. This profile stays available as a record of how they ruled. If you're preparing for a matter, start from the court's current bench.