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Employment Rulings in the Federal Circuit

The Federal Circuit is different from the regional circuits: instead of covering a group of states, it hears certain federal-employee workplace appeals from across the country — for example, cases appealed from the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), the agency that reviews federal-employee discipline and firing disputes.

Of the 174 published rulings we track here (19872026), 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 174 published rulings we track in the Federal Circuit.

Defendant Win
83 (48%)
Dismissed
42 (24%)
Mixed Result
22 (13%)
Remanded
18 (10%)
Plaintiff Win
9 (5%)

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 174 rulings we could classify by stage were decided.

Appeal
171 (98%)

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
2 (1%)

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 2 summary-judgment rulings here, 1 ended the case in the employer’s favor and 1 let the worker’s claims continue.

Other rulings
1 (1%)

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

Top Employers

Recent Rulings in the Federal Circuit

Tavakkol v. MSPB

May 14, 2026Federal CircuitDefendant Win

Hamill v. Collins

Feb 4, 2026Federal CircuitMixed Result

Holstein v. Collins

Jan 30, 2026Federal CircuitDismissed

Natera, Inc. v. Neogenomics Laboratories, Inc.

Dec 17, 2025Federal CircuitDismissed

Natera, Inc. v. Neogenomics Laboratories, Inc.

Dec 16, 2025Federal CircuitDismissed

Genentech, Inc. v. Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, Inc.

Jan 30, 2025Federal CircuitDismissed

Stewart

Jan 28, 2025Federal CircuitDefendant Win

Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, Inc. v. Genentech, Inc.

Dec 17, 2024Federal CircuitDismissed

Estrada

Dec 10, 2024Federal CircuitRemanded

Adasa Inc. v. Avery Dennison Corporation

May 2, 2024Federal CircuitDismissed

Adasa Inc. v. Avery Dennison Corporation

May 2, 2024Federal CircuitDismissed

Tucker

Oct 24, 2022Federal CircuitDismissed

Tucker

Sep 14, 2022Federal CircuitDismissed

Realtime Adaptive Streaming v. Netflix, Inc.

Jul 27, 2022Federal CircuitDefendant Win

Realtime Adaptive Streaming v. Netflix, Inc.

Jul 27, 2022Federal CircuitDefendant Win

Google LLC v. Realtime Adaptive Streaming

Jun 15, 2022Federal CircuitDefendant Win

Comcast Cable Communications, LLC v. Realtime Adaptive Streaming LLC

Jun 15, 2022Federal CircuitDefendant Win

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company v. Sigmapharm Laboratories

Sep 3, 2021Federal CircuitPlaintiff Win

Sling Tv, L.L.C. v. Realtime Adaptive Streaming

Mar 16, 2021Federal CircuitDismissed

Mylan Laboratories Ltd. v. Janssen Pharmaceutica, N.V.

Mar 12, 2021Federal CircuitDismissed

Adaptive Streaming Inc. v. Netflix, Inc.

Dec 14, 2020Federal CircuitDefendant Win

Chan

Nov 10, 2020Federal CircuitDefendant Win

Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. v. 10x Genomics Inc.

Aug 3, 2020Federal CircuitMixed Result

Essity Hygiene and Health Ab v. Cascades Canada Ulc

May 8, 2020Federal CircuitDefendant Win

Essity Professional Hygiene v. Cascades Canada Ulc

May 8, 2020Federal CircuitDefendant Win

Galderma Laboratories, L.P. v. Amneal Pharmaceuticals LLC

Mar 25, 2020Federal CircuitMixed Result

Feuer

Sep 13, 2019Federal CircuitDefendant Win

Athena Diagnostics, Inc. v. Mayo Collaborative Servs., LLC

Jul 3, 2019Federal CircuitDefendant Win

Athena Diagnostics, Inc. v. Mayo Collaborative Servs., LLC

Feb 6, 2019Federal CircuitDefendant Win

Sanofi Mature Ip v. Mylan Laboratories Limited

Feb 5, 2019Federal CircuitRemanded

Acorda Therapeutics, Inc. v. Roxane Laboratories, Inc.

Sep 10, 2018Federal CircuitDefendant Win

01 Communique Laboratory, Inc v. Citrix Online, LLC

Apr 26, 2018Federal CircuitDefendant Win

Bryant v. Merit Systems Protection Board

Dec 29, 2017Federal CircuitDefendant Win

CF CRESPE LLC v. Silicon Laboratories Inc.

Dec 7, 2017Federal CircuitDefendant Win

Emerachem Holdings, LLC v. Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.

Oct 23, 2017Federal CircuitDefendant Win

Adams

Jun 29, 2017Federal CircuitDefendant Win

McInnis v. Department of Education

Feb 8, 2017Federal CircuitMixed Result

Cloud Farm Associates LP v. Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.

Jan 9, 2017Federal CircuitDefendant Win

CF Crespe LLC v. Silicon Laboratories Inc.

Nov 8, 2016Federal CircuitMixed Result

Acevedo

Jun 9, 2016Federal CircuitDefendant Win

Adams

Jun 9, 2016Federal CircuitDefendant Win

Core Laboratories LP v. Spectrum Tracer Services, L.L.C.

Apr 7, 2016Federal CircuitDefendant Win

Macrosolve, Inc. v. Government Employees Insurance

Feb 9, 2016Federal CircuitDefendant Win

Hare

Jan 21, 2016Federal CircuitDismissed

Beriont

Feb 4, 2015Federal CircuitDefendant Win

Berlin

Nov 20, 2014Federal CircuitDefendant Win

Ferring B v. v. Watson Laboratories, Inc.

Aug 22, 2014Federal CircuitMixed Result

Boyd

Apr 11, 2014Federal CircuitDefendant Win

Alcon Research, Ltd. v. Barr Laboratories, Inc.

Mar 18, 2014Federal CircuitMixed Result

Asatov

Oct 16, 2013Federal CircuitDefendant Win

Showing 150 of 174 rulings · Page 1 of 4

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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.