Richard W. Story

How Judge Story rules, drawn from 17 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.

Court
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia (Gainesville Division)
Position
District judge
Status
Senior status
Appointed by
Bill Clinton (Democratic)
Commissioned
February 4, 1998
Education
LaGrange College, B.A. (1975); University of Georgia School of Law, J.D. (1978)
Signed orders read
17

About Judge Story

Richard W. Story is a judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. Appointed by President William J. Clinton, Judge Story received a commission on February 4, 1998. Judge Story assumed senior status on December 1, 2018.

Judge Story's practices and standing orders

Rules for cases before Judge Story, as published on the court's website (checked October 9, 2026). Judges revise these often, so confirm the current version on the court's site before you file.

Key rules

Filing

Provide courtesy copies for emergency, temporary restraining order, and preliminary injunction motions.

“Courtesy copies are not required, except for emergency motions filed pursuant to Local Rule 7.2(B), and motions for temporary restraining orders and/or preliminary injunctions.”

Motions

Seek temporary restraining orders or preliminary injunctions by separate motion.

“Any request for a temporary restraining order or for preliminary injunctive relief must be made by separate motion.”

Discovery

Confer orally and in good faith before filing a discovery motion.

“Prior to filing a discovery motion, the parties are REQUIRED to confer in good faith in an effort to resolve the dispute. The duty to confer requires oral communication between the attorneys.”

Standing orders for every case in this court

Orders the court applies to all of its cases, whichever judge has them, as published on the court's website (checked October 9, 2026).

Key rules from these orders · The court's local rules ↗

How Judge Story decides

Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.

What persuades

In Cook v. Encompass Insurance Company of America, Story denied the insurer’s summary judgment motion because the parties disputed whether the insurer’s claims analyst had agreed to settle.

“There is therefore a genuine dispute of material fact such that summary judgment cannot be granted as to this claim.”

In Rossi v. Fulton County Board of Assessors, Story ruled on the defendant's summary-judgment motion claim by claim after reviewing magistrate recommendations. He denied judgment on Rossi's ADA and FMLA retaliation claims and granted it on her remaining claims.

“Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment as to Plaintiff Leann Rossi [158] is DENIED as to claims under the ADA and the retaliation claims under the FMLA and GRANTED as to all of the remaining claims asserted by Plaintiff Rossi.”

Procedural preferences

In Messer’s criminal case, he adopted the magistrate judge’s recommendation after reviewing the suppression objections and denied the motion to suppress.

“Judge Fuller's R&R [Dkt. 31] is accepted with approval and ADOPTED for all purposes. It is ORDERED that Defendant's Motion to Suppress [Dkt. 14] is DENIED.”

Cautions

In FuQua v. Massey, Story construed a pro se filing as a motion for his recusal and denied that motion.

“Plaintiff's construed Motion for Recusal [21] is DENIED.”

In a wrongful-foreclosure suit, he granted the dismissal motions, dismissing the standing-to-foreclose claims with prejudice and other claims without prejudice.

“Defendants' Motions to Dismiss Plaintiffs' Complaint [4 and 7] are GRANTED such that all claims with respect to Defendant J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. are DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE, all claims against McCalla Raymer, LLC and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association premised on Wells Fargo's alleged lack of standing to foreclose are DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE, and to the extent Plaintiffs have attempted to allege any claims ... under any other theory, those claims are DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE”

In Smith, he rejected a cross-motion filed after the agreed deadline because the plaintiff did not show excusable neglect, and he enforced the standard 25-page limit while allowing a compliant opposition brief.

“Plaintiff will not be granted leave to file a brief longer than the standard 25-page limit.”

Signed rulings

A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.

Deal v. Tugalo Gas Company, Inc., et al.
2:17-cv-00209-RWS · 2018-09-06
Motions to dismiss (defendant) Granted in part

“Defendants' Motions to Dismiss [Doc. Nos. 22, 23, and 24] are GRANTED in part and DENIED in part. Defendants' Motions to Dismiss Counts I, II, VI, VII, IX, X, XI, XIII, XIV, XV, XVI, and XVII are GRANTED as to Plaintiff's direct action claims. Defendants' Motions to Dismiss the fraud claims are DENIED.”

Motions to dismiss (defendant) Granted

“Defendant's Motion to Dismiss [Doc. No. 34] is GRANTED. The derivative claims brought in Counts I, II, VI, VII, IX, X, XI, XIII, XIV, XV, XVI, and XVII are DISMISSED.”

Cook v. Encompass Insurance Company of America
1:16-cv-04354-RWS · 2018-06-29
Summary judgment (defendant) Denied

“the Motion for Summary Judgment of Encompass Insurance Company of America [17] is DENIED.”

FuQua v. Massey, et al.
1:13-cv-03611-RWS · 2014-05-29
Motions to dismiss (defendant) Granted

“Defendants' Motion to Dismiss [11] is GRANTED, and Plaintiff's Verified Petition for Permanent Injunction and Temporary Restraining Order [2], Motion to Strike [15], Construed Motion for Recusal [21], and Request for Entry of Default [25] are DENIED.”

Motion for recusal (plaintiff) Denied

“Plaintiff's construed Motion for Recusal [21] is DENIED.”

United States v. Christopher Shawn Messer
2:24-cr-00003-RWS-JCF · 2025-01-23
Motion to suppress (defendant) Denied

“Judge Fuller's R&R [Dkt. 31] is accepted with approval and ADOPTED for all purposes. It is ORDERED that Defendant's Motion to Suppress [Dkt. 14] is DENIED.”

Parker v. Felcor Lodging Trust, Inc.
1:08-cv-03644-RWS · 2010-09-14
Summary judgment (defendant) Granted

“Defendant Felcor's Motion for Leave to File Affidavit [23] and Motion for Summary Judgment [17] are GRANTED.”

O'Connor v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., et al.
1:12-cv-02525-RWS · 2013-03-27
Motions to dismiss (defendant) Granted

“Defendants' Motions to Dismiss Plaintiffs' Complaint [4 and 7] are GRANTED such that all claims with respect to Defendant J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. are DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE, all claims against McCalla Raymer, LLC and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association premised on Wells Fargo's alleged lack of standing to foreclose are DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE, and to the extent Plaintiffs have attempted to allege any claims ... under any other theory, those claims are DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE”

Motion for recusal (plaintiff) Denied

“Plaintiffs' Motion for Recusal and Disqualification of Judge [27] is DENIED.”

Summary judgment (plaintiff) Denied

“Plaintiffs' Motion for Summary Judgment [19] is DENIED.”

United States v. Akins
Motion to suppress (defendant) Denied

“Suppress [Dkts. 18, 38; 19, 36; 20, 25, 35; 21, 39; 22, 37] are DENIED.”

Rossi et al. v. Fulton County Board of Assessors et al.
1:10-cv-04254 · 2013-03-22
Summary judgment (defendant) Granted

“Plaintiff Cheryl Smalls [160] is GRANTED as to all claims asserted by Plaintiff Smalls;”

Summary judgment (defendant) Granted in part

“Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment as to Plaintiff Theresa McGruder [161] is DENIED as to the disparate-treatment claim arising from Plaintiff’s termination and GRANTED as to all of the remaining claims asserted by Plaintiff McGruder;”

Summary judgment (defendant) Granted

“Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment as to Plaintiff Ansley Pascoli [163] is GRANTED as to all claims asserted by Plaintiff Pascoli;”

Summary judgment (defendant) Granted in part

“Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment as to Plaintiff Debra Poole [162] is DENIED as to the disparate-treatment claims under Title VII and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (‘ADEA’) that arise from Plaintiff’s termination and the claim of interference under the Family and Medical Leave Act (‘FMLA’) and GRANTED as to all of the remaining claims asserted by Plaintiff Poole;”

Summary judgment (defendant) Granted in part

“Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment as to Plaintiff Leann Rossi [158] is DENIED as to claims under the ADA and the retaliation claims under the FMLA and GRANTED as to all of the remaining claims asserted by Plaintiff Rossi;”

Summary judgment (defendant) Granted in part

“Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment as to Plaintiff Rebecca Canada [159] is DENIED as to the failure-to-accommodate claims under the ADA and the claims under the FMLA and GRANTED as to all of the remaining claims asserted by Plaintiff Canada.”

Gaguski v. Fannin County, Georgia et al.
2:11-cv-00306 · 2015-01-28
Summary judgment (defendants) Granted

“the summary judgment motions filed by Defendants Michael McMunn and Ann Evans [64] and Defendants Greg Newman and Fannin County, Georgia [73] are GRANTED; Plaintiff’s Motions for Summary Judgment [68], for Discovery and Document Production [76], for Appointment of Counsel [77], and to Summon Witnesses [78] are DENIED; and this action is DISMISSED.”

Summary judgment (defendants) Granted
Summary judgment (plaintiff) Denied
Motion for discovery and document production (plaintiff) Denied
Motion for appointment of counsel (plaintiff) Denied
Motion to summon witnesses (plaintiff) Denied
Bagwell et al. v. Peachtree Doors and Windows, Inc. et al.
2:08-cv-00191 · 2011-04-19
Summary judgment (defendants) Denied

“are hereby DENIED.”

Summary judgment (plaintiffs) Denied
Johnson v. Allstate Indemnity Company
1:14-cv-00058 · 2015-01-07
Summary judgment (defendant) Granted

“Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment [12] is hereby GRANTED.”

Flamberg v. SunTrust Mortgage Inc.
2:12-cv-00200 · 2012-09-14
Motions to dismiss (defendant) Granted

“Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss [7] is hereby GRANTED.”

Motion to stay discovery (defendant) Moot / procedural

“Defendant’s Motion to Stay Discovery and Pretrial Deadlines [8] is DENIED AS MOOT.”

Caseload & timing

From public federal docket records for this judge.

Median case duration in the sampled dockets: 423 days (N = 11).

  • General civil docket (Gainesville/Atlanta divisions) plus a criminal caseload: civil rights, employment/age discrimination, consumer credit (FCRA), Social Security, insurance/subrogation, corporate/derivative, qui tam, and felon-in-possession criminal. His current (2026) direct docket is dominated by Gainesville-division SSA and general-civil filings, with Anna W.
  • Howard as the referral magistrate.

Pending matters in the official report

Reported by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts under the Civil Justice Reform Act, as of March 31, 2026.

Motions pending more than six months2
Bench trials submitted more than six months0
Bankruptcy appeals pending more than six months0
Social Security appeals pending more than six months0
Civil cases pending more than three years0
ReportMotions over six monthsCases over three years
Mar 202620
Sep 202521
Mar 2025115
Sep 2024024
Mar 2024275
Sep 20231201
Mar 20230997
Sep 202202,376
Mar 202201,850
Sep 202101,404
Mar 20214632
Sep 20200133

A snapshot on that date: matters listed may since have been decided or reassigned. A motion referred to a magistrate judge is counted for both judges. Motions in multidistrict litigation, section 2255 cases and Social Security appeals are not counted, and a very large three-year count is generally a multidistrict docket. Source: Appendix A of the report (PDF); about the report.

How long civil cases take in this court

For the whole of U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia (Gainesville Division), not for Judge Story: median time from filing to disposition of the civil cases the court closed in the 12 months ending September 30, 2025, as reported by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.

CasesMedian time
All civil cases closed6,7034 months
Closed with no court action6403 months
Closed before pretrial4,1381.6 months
Closed during or after pretrial1,90111.6 months
Closed during trial2431.4 months
12 months endingCases closedMedian time
Sep 20256,7034 months
Sep 20246,1905.3 months
Sep 20238,61413.7 months
Sep 20225,4035.1 months
Sep 20214,9086 months
Sep 20204,4635.7 months
Sep 20194,9546.2 months

The table leaves out prisoner petitions, land condemnations, deportation reviews, recovery of overpayments and enforcement of judgments, and reports no median for fewer than 10 cases. A district that closed a large multidistrict litigation in the period shows very large counts and long medians for that year. Source: Table C-5, U.S. District Courts (spreadsheet).

Draft for Judge Story with the record in hand

Ezel grounds your drafting and research in this profile: what has persuaded Judge Story, and what has not, cited to the signed orders.

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