Practices

Business Litigation
Medical & Healthcare
Intellectual Property
Appellate & Written Advocacy
Long Term Care & Nursing Home Litigation
Education

J.D., Vanderbilt University (1981)
B.A., cum laude, Vanderbilt University (1978)
Bar Admissions

Alabama, 1981
Courts

U.S. Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit
U.S. District Court, Middle District of Alabama
U.S. District Court, Northern District of Alabama
U.S. District Court, Southern District of Alabama

Randal H. Sellers
Partner

Randy Sellers has practiced at Starnes Davis Florie for over 25 years and serves on the firm’s Executive Committee.

Practice

Randy's practice has been devoted to civil litigation including healthcare, professional medical liability, long-term care, intellectual property and complex commercial litigation. He has tried more than 150 complex civil cases to a jury verdict.

Highlights

* Counsel for UAB and UAB Research Foundation in litigation concerning inventership of new device to assist surgeons during laparoscopic surgery.

* Counsel for Marshall Investments Corporation in litigation stemming from the large-scale fraud at Le Natures Inc.

* Alabama trial counsel for Eton Park Capital Management in hedge fund/private equity litigation involving Latin American energy assets.

* Represented UAB and the UAB Research Foundation in a patent dispute relating to antiviral compounds used to treat Hepatitis B and helped UAB obtain a settlement with a minimum value of $15 million.

* Obtained a defense verdict in favor of a physiatrist in a case arising from alleged failure to timely diagnose cervical myelopathy.

* Obtained a defense verdict on behalf of a specialty care assisted living facility in a wrongful death case involving an assault of a visitor by an Alzheimer's dementia resident.

* Obtained a defense verdict in favor of a hospital and nurses in a wrongful death case arising from alleged mismanagement of insulin therapy.

* Obtained a defense verdict on behalf of an Emergency Department physician in an eleven day wrongful death trial in the Circuit Court of Mobile County.

* Obtained a defense verdict in favor of two obstetricians and their professional corporation at the conclusion of an eight-day wrongful death and personal injury trial, arising from an intrauterine fetal demise which occurred 37 weeks into the plaintiff's pregnancy.

* Obtained a jury verdict in favor of an obstetrician involving upper extremity paralysis and brain injury associated with delivery.

* Obtained a jury verdict in a wrongful death case against a cardiovascular surgeon regarding complications of open heart surgery.

* Obtained a defense verdict in favor of a vascular surgeon in litigation related to amputation of a leg as a complication of surgery.

* Obtained a defense verdict in favor of a surgeon in a wrongful death case arising out of surgery to repair maxillofacial trauma.

Honors And Awards

Randy has been honored by his peers for his litigation accomplishments. He is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers (ACTL), currently serving as Chair of the ACTL Legal Ethics & Professionalism Committee, and Vice-Chair of the ACTL Alabama State Committee. Randy also is a Diplomate of the American Board of Trial Advocates.

Randy has been recognized as a "Tier 1" Litigator for the state of Alabama in the 2008 - 2010 editions of Chambers USA, and was named a Litigation Star for the state of Alabama in the 2008 - 2010 editions of  Benchmark Litigation.  He has also been listed in Best Lawyers in America® for ten consecutive years, 2001 - 2011, and has been named one of the top attorneys in the state of Alabama by Alabama Super Lawyers® magazine, 2008 - 2010. 

Community Involvement

Randy is actively involved at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church where he has served on the Vestry and numerous committees, including Chairman of the Outreach Committee. He is involved with several outreach ministries, including prison ministry, and currently serves on the Board of an interfaith network dedicated to assisting temporarily homeless families. Randy is a member of  the Kiwanis Club of Birmingham and he is past Chairman of the Board of Directors of PreSchool Partners, an organization dedicated to preschool education of underprivileged inner-city children.

In 2004, he completed the Education For Ministry Program through the University of the South School of Theology.

Reported Cases

Thompson v. Patton, No. 1061540, 2008 WL 4531792 (Ala. Oct. 10, 2008).

Ware v. Timmons, ---So. 2d --- (Ala. 2006).

Holcomb v. Carraway, 945 So. 2d 1009 (Ala. 2006).

Bailey v. Breaux, 888 so. 2d 1208 (Ala. 2003).

Hauseman v. University of Alabama Health Services Foundation, 793 So. 2d 730 (Ala. 2000).

Giada v. Tucker, 746 so. 2d 998 (Ala. 1999).

Axelroth v. Health Partners of Alabama, Inc., 720 So. 2d 880 (Ala. 1998).

Ellis v. Hilburn, 688 So. 2d 236 (Ala. 1997).

Keel v. Banach, 624 so. 2d 1022 (Ala. 1993).

Levesque v. Regional Medical Center, 612 So. 2d 445 (Ala. 1993).

Northeast Alabama Regional Medical Center v. Robinson, 548 So. 2d 439 (Ala. 1989).

Long v. Hodges, 539 So. 2d 238 (Ala. 1989).

McGee v. Bradford, 534 So. 2d 1076 (Ala. 1988).

Otwell v. Bryant, 497 So. 2d 111 (Ala. 1986).

Baxter v. Surgical Clinic of Anniston, P.A., 495 So. 2d 652 (Ala. 1986).

Guthrie v. Bio-Medical Laboratories, Inc., 442 So. 2d 92 (Ala. 1983).

Watts v. Preferred Risk Mut. Ins. Co., 423 so. 2d 171 (Ala. 1982).

Vulcan Freight Lines, Inc. v. South Carolina Ins. Co., Inc., 446 So. 2d 603 (Ala. 1982).

Bradley v. Mariner Health, Inc., 315 F. Supp. 2d 1190 (S.D. Ala. 2004).

Pinkney v. Davis, 952 F. Supp. 1561 (M.D. Ala. 1997).

Zachery v. Thigpen, 895 F. Supp. 1472 (M.D. Ala. 1995).

Floyd v. Broughton, 664 So. 2d 897 (Ala. 1995).

Christian v. Johnson-Rast & Hays Co., 491 So. 2d 949 (Ala. Civ. App. 1986)

Gallups v. Crook, 792 F. Supp. 1231 (N.D. Ala. 1992).

Speeches And Publications

Randal H. Sellers and Thomas J. Hurney, Jr., "Picking Juries: Questionnaires and Beyond", IADC Defense Counsel Journal, Vol. 75, No. 4, Pages 370-377 (October 2008).  *Please Note: this article was reprinted with the permission of the IADC Defense Counsel Journal.

Randy lectures frequently on litigation topics such as discovery and trial techniques. Randy has spoken to numerous groups, including most recently an address to the Medical Defense and Health Law Committee at the annual meeting of the International Association of Defense Counsel.

Related News

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