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Employment Rulings in the Eleventh Circuit

The Eleventh Circuit covers the federal courts in Alabama, Florida, and Georgia. The rulings below come from the circuit's court of appeals and the federal trial courts within it.

Of the 1,807 published rulings we track here (19682026), 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 1,807 published rulings we track in the Eleventh Circuit.

Defendant Win
782 (43%)
Dismissed
300 (17%)
Plaintiff Win
278 (15%)
Mixed Result
240 (13%)
Remanded
149 (8%)
Settlement
58 (3%)

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 1,761 rulings we could classify by stage were decided.

Appeal
772 (44%)

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
331 (19%)

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 331 summary-judgment rulings here, 229 ended the case in the employer’s favor and 102 let the worker’s claims continue.

Motion to dismiss
520 (30%)

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

Trial verdict
47 (3%)

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

Settlement / consent decree
58 (3%)

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
15 (1%)

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

Other rulings
18 (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 Eleventh Circuit covers.

Recent Rulings in the Eleventh Circuit

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Carolyn Smith, Intervenor v. Reichhold Chemicals, Inc.

Apr 26, 199311th CircuitDefendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Martin Marietta Corp.

Mar 3, 1993M.D. Fla.Plaintiff Win

Nlrb v. T.L.C. St. Petersburg, Inc.

Feb 3, 199311th CircuitDefendant Win

Carroll

Dec 10, 1992N.D. Ga.Mixed Result

Mott

Sep 25, 1992N.D. Ga.Mixed Result

Eeoc v. Beverage Canners, Inc.

Mar 31, 199211th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Dixie Aluminum Products Co. v. Mitsubishi International Corp.

Feb 12, 1992N.D. Ga.Defendant Win

Nlrb v. Kellwood Company

Nov 6, 199111th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Kloster Cruise Limited, D/B/A Norwegian Cruise Lines

Aug 21, 199111th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Turner

Mar 25, 1991N.D. Ga.Defendant Win

Opelika Welding, MacHine v. Nlrb

Aug 22, 199011th CircuitMixed Result

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. School Board of Pinellas County

Aug 3, 1990M.D. Fla.Mixed Result

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Kloster Cruise Ltd.

Jul 26, 1990S.D. Fla.Defendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Bermuda Star Line, Inc.

Jul 19, 1990M.D. Fla.Plaintiff Win

Donald R. PATTERSON, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Defendants-Appellees

May 18, 199011th CircuitDefendant Win

Walker

May 2, 1990N.D. Ala.Mixed Result

Walton

Apr 3, 1990N.D. Ala.Mixed Result

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Beverage Canners, Inc.

Apr 2, 199011th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Cross-Appellee v. Mike Smith Pontiac Gmc, Inc., Cross-Appellant

Mar 14, 199011th CircuitMixed Result

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. White and Son Enterprises, a Corporation

Aug 24, 198911th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Nlrb v. E.H. Mann, Inc

Jun 28, 198911th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Pettegrove Truck Service, Inc.

May 4, 1989S.D. Fla.Plaintiff Win

Alimenta Processing Corp. v. Nlrb

Jan 31, 198911th CircuitDefendant Win

Pardazi

Dec 1, 1988N.D. Ala.Defendant Win

Eeoc v. Rinker Materials Corp

Nov 15, 198811th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Nlrb v. Smi Steel, Inc.

Oct 11, 198811th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Jacksonville Shipyards, Inc.

Sep 23, 1988M.D. Fla.Mixed Result

Eeoc v. Center of Drug Free Living

Aug 31, 198811th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Nlrb v. Fitzgerald Underwear Corp.

Jun 30, 198811th CircuitMixed Result

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Carolina Freight Carriers Corp.

Jun 9, 1988S.D. Fla.Plaintiff Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Cross-Appellee v. Guardian Pools, Inc., Cross-Appellant

Oct 5, 198711th CircuitMixed Result

Nlrb v. Heuer Int'l Trucks, Inc.

Sep 2, 198711th CircuitDefendant Win

Nlrb v. Cuello Industries, Inc

Aug 20, 198711th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Eeoc v. Sea Coast Appliance Dist.

Jul 24, 198711th CircuitMixed Result

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Air Products & Chemicals, Inc.

Aug 12, 1986N.D. Fla.Defendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Firestone Tire & Rubber Co.

Oct 29, 1985M.D. Ga.Defendant Win

Caruthers

Mar 18, 198511th CircuitDefendant Win

Cox

Apr 30, 1984N.D. Ala.Defendant Win

Nlrb v. Restaurant Mgmnt. Serv.

Mar 12, 198411th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Documation Inc. v. Nlrb

Mar 8, 198411th CircuitDefendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. May & Co.

Sep 26, 1983N.D. Ga.Mixed Result

Nlrb v. Complete Auto Transit

Mar 17, 198311th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Pet Inc.

Jul 16, 1982M.D. Ala.Mixed Result

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. H. S. Camp & Sons, Inc.

Jun 1, 1982M.D. Fla.Plaintiff Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Shoney's, Inc.

May 28, 1982N.D. Ala.Defendant Win

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. DRESSER INDUSTRIES, INC., Defendant-Appellee

Feb 22, 198211th CircuitDefendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Shoney's, Inc.

Jan 27, 1982N.D. Ala.Defendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Sambo's of Georgia, Inc.

Dec 30, 1981N.D. Ga.Defendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Upjohn Corp.

Dec 9, 1977N.D. Ga.Mixed Result

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Metropolitan Atlanta Girls' Club, Inc.

Jun 30, 1976N.D. Ga.Plaintiff Win

Browse Other Circuits

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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.