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Employment Rulings in the Eighth Circuit

The Eighth Circuit covers the federal courts in Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota. The rulings below come from the circuit's court of appeals and the federal trial courts within it.

Of the 1,462 published rulings we track here (19732026), the breakdowns below show how they were decided. They describe published opinions only — not the odds of any particular situation.

How These Rulings Ended

Of the 1,462 published rulings we track in the Eighth Circuit.

Defendant Win
660 (45%)
Plaintiff Win
255 (17%)
Mixed Result
244 (17%)
Dismissed
176 (12%)
Remanded
100 (7%)
Settlement
27 (2%)

What Happens at Each Stage

A workplace lawsuit moves through stages, and a ruling can end it at any of them. Here is where the 1,452 rulings we could classify by stage were decided.

Appeal
647 (45%)

A higher court reviewing an earlier decision. Many published opinions come from this stage, after a lot has already happened in the case.

Summary judgment
310 (21%)

A ruling where the judge decides the case — or part of it — without a trial, because one side argues the key facts are not in dispute. For workers, getting past this step is often the biggest hurdle.

Of the 310 summary-judgment rulings here, 196 ended the case in the employer’s favor and 114 let the worker’s claims continue.

Motion to dismiss
385 (27%)

An early request — usually by the employer — to throw the case out before any evidence is gathered.

Trial verdict
49 (3%)

A judge or jury heard the evidence and reached a decision. Relatively few disputes get this far.

Settlement / consent decree
26 (2%)

The two sides resolved the dispute by agreement, sometimes with court approval. Most settlements are private and never show up in published opinions.

Default judgment
24 (2%)

A decision entered because one side did not respond to the case at all.

Other rulings
11 (1%)

Procedural decisions and orders that do not fit the main stages above.

States in This Circuit

Browse rulings from courts in each state the Eighth Circuit covers.

Recent Rulings in the Eighth Circuit

Newsom

Aug 5, 2003E.D. Mo.Mixed Result

McCurdy

Aug 4, 2003E.D. Ark.Defendant Win

Volkswagen

Jul 21, 20038th CircuitMixed Result

Brian Andreas v. Volkswagen Of America, Inc.

Jul 21, 20038th CircuitMixed Result

Professional Management Associates, Inc. Employees' Profit Sharing Plan, on Behalf of Itself and All Others Similarly Situated v. Kpmg LLP

Jul 14, 20038th CircuitDismissed

Hubert Back v. Danka Corporation Danka Office Imaging Company and Danka Corporation Severance Pay Plan

Jul 14, 20038th CircuitMixed Result

EEOC v. Kohler Company

Jul 10, 20038th CircuitPlaintiff Win

LeClair

Jul 9, 2003S.D. IowaDefendant Win

Aaron

Jul 3, 2003E.D. Mo.Plaintiff Win

Employers Fire Ins. Co. v. Power Model Supply Co.

Jul 3, 2003E.D. Mo.Defendant Win

Seman v. FMC Corp. Retirement Plan for Hourly Employees

Jul 1, 20038th CircuitPlaintiff Win

BERRWTH

Jul 1, 2003S.D. IowaRemanded

Thomas v. Fmc Corporation Retirement Plan For Hourly Employees

Jul 1, 20038th CircuitPlaintiff Win

General Motors Acceptance Corporation, Appellant/cross-Appellee v. Union Bank & Trust Company, Appellee/cross-Appellant

Jun 24, 20038th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Upsher-Smith

Jun 19, 20038th CircuitDefendant Win

AMERICAN STATE BANK, — v. UNION PLANTERS BANK, N.A., —

Jun 13, 20038th CircuitDefendant Win

American State Bank v. Union Planters Bank

Jun 13, 20038th CircuitDefendant Win

Nebraska Plastics, Inc. v. MOSS-ADAMS CAPITAL, LLC

Jun 10, 2003D. Neb.Defendant Win

Minnesota School Boards Association Insurance Trust v. Employers Insurance of Wausau, a Mutual Company, a Corporation

Jun 9, 20038th CircuitDefendant Win

MN School Boards v. Employers Ins. of

Jun 9, 20038th CircuitDefendant Win

Gregory L. Logan v. J&d Hauling, Inc. David Leo Smith, Jr. Union Pacific Railroad Company

May 30, 20038th CircuitDefendant Win

Ronald J. Fenney v. Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad Company, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Amicus on Behalf of The

May 29, 20038th CircuitPlaintiff Win

GMAC

May 19, 20038th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Crock

May 15, 2003S.D. IowaDefendant Win

GITS Manufacturing Co., L.L.C. v. Local 281 International Union

May 7, 2003S.D. IowaDefendant Win

Wiemann

May 6, 2003S.D. IowaDefendant Win

Cynthia McAllister v. Transamerica Occidental Life Insurance Company

Apr 15, 20038th CircuitDefendant Win

Poage

Apr 8, 2003S.D. IowaPlaintiff Win

Dehne

Mar 31, 2003E.D. Mo.Defendant Win

Cooley

Mar 28, 2003E.D. Mo.Defendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Oilgear Co.

Mar 12, 2003D. Neb.Mixed Result

Fakorzi

Mar 11, 2003S.D. IowaMixed Result

Gerald Alumbaugh v. Union Pacific Railroad Company and the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company

Mar 7, 20038th CircuitMixed Result

Gerald Alumbaugh v. Union Pacific RR

Mar 7, 20038th CircuitMixed Result

Dean

Feb 24, 2003S.D. IowaDefendant Win

Van Horn v. Specialized Support Services, Inc.

Jan 29, 2003S.D. IowaPlaintiff Win

General Electric Capital Corp. v. Union Planters Bank, N.A.

Jan 16, 2003E.D. Mo.Mixed Result

National Labor Relations Board v. Miller Waste Mills

Jan 10, 20038th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Neal v. Western Union Financial Services

Jan 10, 20038th CircuitDefendant Win

National Labor Relations Board v. Miller Waste Mills

Jan 10, 20038th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Brede

Jan 7, 20038th CircuitPlaintiff Win

National Labor Relations Board v. Brede, Inc.

Jan 7, 20038th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Liberal R-Ii School District

Dec 31, 20028th CircuitRemanded

EEOC v. Liberal R-II School

Dec 31, 20028th CircuitPlaintiff Win

National Labor Relations Board, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 265, Intervenor on Appeal v. Wolfe Electric Company

Dec 24, 20028th CircuitPlaintiff Win

NLRB v. Wolfe Electric Co.

Dec 24, 20028th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Ron Thomas v. Union Pacific Railroad Company

Dec 2, 20028th CircuitDefendant Win

Devitt

Nov 21, 2002D.N.D.Defendant Win

Schmerr

Nov 20, 2002S.D. IowaPlaintiff Win

Susan J. Thorn v. Amalgamated Transit Union Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 1005

Nov 15, 20028th CircuitDefendant Win

Showing 1,1511,200 of 1,462 rulings · Page 24 of 30

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These figures summarize publicly available published court opinions only. Published opinions over-represent summary-judgment rulings (decisions made without a trial) and appeals, because those are the stages where judges most often write formal opinions. Most workplace disputes settle privately and never appear here at all. A ruling’s outcome reflects many case-specific factors and is not a prediction for any other situation. Read more about how we source and classify rulings.

Data sourced from public federal court records via CourtListener.com. Case outcomes extracted using AI analysis. This information is for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. The classification of outcomes and case stages is based on automated analysis and may not reflect the full scope of each case.