AGUILAR
v.
LEE MEMORIAL HEALTH SYSTEM FOUNDATION, INC.
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
The court issued an order recusing Judge Sheri Polster Chappell from a medical malpractice case against Lee Memorial Hospital because her immediate family member actively uses a doctor associated with the defendant hospital, creating an appearance of partiality that required disqualification under 28 U.S.C. § 455.
The judge must recuse herself from the case. Under 28 U.S.C. § 455(a) and (b), disqualification is required when a judge's impartiality might reasonably be questioned or when specific statutory circumstances exist. Here, the family member's active use of a doctor associated with the defendant hospital creates an appearance of impropriety requiring recusal.
“A judge must disqualify if her "impartiality might reasonably be questioned." 28 U.S.C. § 455(a).”
Establishes the primary standard for judicial recusal based on reasonable questions about impartiality.
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceJudge Sheri Polster Chappell's immediate family member currently uses a doctor who is associated with Lee Memorial Hospital, Inc., a named defendant i…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Impartiality cases and more on FLexlaw
Before the Court is a review of the docket. A judge must disqualify if her “impartiality might reasonably be questioned.” 28 U.S.C. § 455(a). She must also disqualify in certain situations listed in § 455(b). And all doubts are “resolved in favor of recusal.” Murray v. Scott, 253 F. 3d 1308, 1310 (11th Cir. 2001). Because the Court’s immediate family member now actively uses a doctor associated with Lee Memorial Hospital, a named Defendant, disqualification may be required. See 28 U.S.C. § 455(b). To avoid even the appearance of partiality or impropriety, the Court finds she must recuse herself. See Liljeberg v. Health Servs. Acquisition Corp., 486 U.S. 847, 865 (1988). Accordingly, it is now ORDERED: 1. The Honorable Sheri Polster Chappell is RECUSED from this action. 2. The Clerk is DIRECTED to reassign this case to another United States District Judge in the Fort Myers Division. DONE and ORDERED in Fort Myers, Florida on July 28, 2024.
, Lh platralh< 3
UNITED STATES DISTRICTJUDGE
Copies: All Parties of Record
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Authorities Cited
- Liljeberg v. Health Servs. Acquisition Corp., 486 U.S. 847 (U.S. 1988)
- Murray v. Scott, 253 F.3d 1308 (11th Cir. 2001)