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Richard Decker

Richard Decker

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Richard Decker is a civil litigation and appeals specialist and currently practicing Of Counsel to the firm. His practice focuses on commercial and intellectual property litigation and appeals, along with selected personal injury and wrongful death litigation. He has had a number of cases before the Georgia Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court of Georgia, and has also appeared in several Federal Circuit Courts of Appeal. His appellate work has resulted in several landmark decisions in Georgia and nationally. He has handled and supervised civil litigation nationally and internationally.
 
Mr. Decker earned his B.A. degree from Wake Forest University in 1968 and his J.D. degree from the Emory University School of Law in 1972. He was a member of the Emory Law Journal. Mr. Decker is a member of various professional organizations. He is on the faculty at Emory Law School in its National Institute of Trial Advocacy (NITA) program and has also been on the faculty for the Atlanta Bar Association’s NITA program. Mr. Decker has spoken nationally and locally on various litigation issues and was named a 2005 Georgia SuperLawyer by Atlanta Magazine.
 
EDUCATION:
 
Law:
Emory University, School of Law, J.D. (1972)
 
Undergraduate:
Wake Forest University, B.A. (1968)
 
Admissions:
All Georgia Courts (1972)
U.S. Virgin Islands (1996)
 
Significant Reported Cases:
 
Expert Testimony/Scientific Evidence:
Boyd v. Orkin, 191 Ga. App. 38, 381 S.E.2d 295 (1989)
Orkin v. McIntosh, 215 Ga. App. 587, 452 S.E.2d 159 (1994)
Orkin v. Carder, 258 Ga. App. 796, 575 S.E.2d 664 (2002)
Knight v. West Paces Ferry, 262 Ga. App. 220, 585 S.E.2d 104 (2003)
 
Contracts/Damages:
Worth v. Orkin, 142 Ga. App. 59, 234 S.E.2d 802 (1977)
First Georgia Bank v. Webster, 168 Ga. App. 307, 308 S.E.2d 579 (1983)
Parsells v. Orkin, 178 Ga. App. 51, 342 S.E.2d 13 (1986)
Tabor v. Orkin, 183 Ga. App. 807, 360 S.E.2d 34 (1987)
Abalene Pest Control v. Orkin Exterminating, 196 Ga. App. 463, 395 S.E.2d 867 (1990)
 
Insurance Contracts:
Wood v. New York Life Insurance, 783 F.2d 990 (1986)
Ex parte Life Insurance Company of Georgia (In Re Military Insurance Specialists v. Life Insurance Company of Georgia), Supreme Court of Alabama, 810 So.2d 744 (2001)
 
Fiduciary Duties In Partnerships:
Wilensky v. Blalock, 262 Ga. 95, 414 S.E.2d 1 (1992)
 
Restrictive Covenants/Unfair Trade Practices:
Orkin v. Pelfrey, 237 Ga. 284, 227 S.E.2d 251 (1976)
Nunn v. Orkin, 256 Ga. 558, 350 S.E.2d 425 (1986)
Physician Specialists v. MacNeill, 246 Ga. App. 398, 539 S.E.2d 216 (2000)
 
Miscellaneous legal issues:
Toffoloni v. LFP Publishing Group, LLC, 572 F.3d 1201 (11th Cir. 2009); rehearing and rehearing en banc denied, 350 Fed. Appx. 435 (11th Cir. 2009); cert denied, 130 S. Ct. 1689, 176 L.Ed.2d 206 (2010) (violation of the right of publicity)
Brandywine Townhouses v. Joint City-County Board of Tax Assessors, 231 Ga. 585, 203 S.E.2d 222 (1974) (ad valorem taxation of townhomes)
Stiltjes v. Ridco Exterminating Co., 178 Ga. App. 438, 343 S.E.2d 715 (1986) (wrongful death as the result of defective product being used by a licensed professional, i.e., the professional user doctrine); see also Ridco Exterminating Co., Inc. v. Stiltjes, 261 Ga. 697, 409 S.E.2d 847 (1991) (Supreme Court of Georgia case)
Walter v. Orkin, 192 Ga. App. 621, 385 S.E.2d 725 (1989) (res ipsa loquitur in the context of the violation of a state regulation)
Wilensky v. Blalock, 205 Ga. App. 845, 424 S.E.2d 26 (1992) (interest on judgments which have been erroneously set aside by the trial court and later reinstated on appeal)
Wallace v. Nissan of Union City, 240 Ga. App. 658, 524 S.E.2d 542 (1999) (slip & fall as the result of a naturally occurring hazard and the distraction doctrine)
Fassero v. Weinstock & Scavo, 261 Ga. App. 631, 583 S.E.2d 485 (2003) (novation in a divorce settlement agreement relating to responsibility for attorney fees)
 
Selected Professional Publications:
 
Stiltjies v. Settleback Pesticide Corporation: The Effect of EPA’s Approved Label Warnings, Toxics Law Reporter (03/09/88)
 
Boyd v. Orkin Exterminating: Implications for the Future, Toxics Law Reporter (09/20/89)
 
Developments in Punitive Damages, Insurance/Defense Network, 1993-1996
 
Daubert and Scientific Evidence, Insurance/Defense Network, 1993-1996
 
In Defense of Nursing Homes: An Overview of the Law in Georgia, ICLE of Georgia, 1995
 

Personal:
 
Rick Decker is an avid sports fan of the Wake Forest University “Demon Deacons,” having played football and participated in track at Wake Forest from 1964 to 1968. While at Wake, Mr. Decker was the captain of the football team and a two-time all-ACC selection. In 1967, Mr. Decker was also selected All State of North Carolina (college division), All Southern, and Honorable Mention All American by the Associated Press (AP) and the United Press International (UPI) news organizations. Mr. Decker played one season (1968) of professional football with the San Francisco 49’ers of the National Football League and the Alabama Hawks of the Continental Football League.
 
Mr. Decker is on the Board of Trustees of the Log Cabin Church in the Vinings area of Atlanta, Georgia. He is married to the former Virginia Fay Daniel, and they have two daughters, Paula Abigail Decker and Mary Amanda Decker.


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