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Employment Rulings in the Fifth Circuit

The Fifth Circuit covers the federal courts in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. The rulings below come from the circuit's court of appeals and the federal trial courts within it.

Of the 730 published rulings we track here (1970–2026), 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 730 published rulings we track in the Fifth Circuit.

Defendant Win
397 (54%)
Plaintiff Win
117 (16%)
Dismissed
75 (10%)
Mixed Result
74 (10%)
Remanded
55 (8%)
Settlement
12 (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 728 rulings we could classify by stage were decided.

Appeal
336 (46%)

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
182 (25%)

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 182 summary-judgment rulings here, 140 ended the case in the employer’s favor and 42 let the worker’s claims continue.

Motion to dismiss
159 (22%)

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

Trial verdict
25 (3%)

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

Settlement / consent decree
12 (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
8 (1%)

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

Other rulings
6 (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 Fifth Circuit covers.

Recent Rulings in the Fifth Circuit

National Labor Relations Board v. Seaport Printing & AD Specialties, Inc.

Dec 8, 20095th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Maynor v. Dow Chemical Co.

Nov 25, 2009S.D. Tex.Mixed Result

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Exxon Mobil Corp.

Aug 28, 20095th CircuitRemanded

BNSF Railway Co. v. United Transportation Union

Jul 13, 20095th CircuitDefendant Win

Stone v. Unocal Termination

Jun 17, 20095th CircuitDefendant Win

Stone v. UNOCAL Termination Allowance Plan

May 28, 20095th CircuitDefendant Win

National Labor Relations Board v. Grenada Stamping & Assembly Inc.

Apr 23, 20095th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Rodriguez-Valladares

Mar 20, 20095th CircuitDefendant Win

Ashfaq

Mar 16, 2009N.D. Tex.Defendant Win

Rainey

Mar 12, 20095th CircuitDefendant Win

Bolen

Mar 6, 2009N.D. Miss.Defendant Win

EEOC v. Bobrich Enterprises

Mar 6, 20095th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Board of Supervisors

Feb 9, 20095th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Agro Distribution, LLC

Jan 15, 20095th CircuitDefendant Win

In Re Gni Group, Inc.

Dec 31, 2008S.D. Tex.Defendant Win

United States Ex Rel. Cassaday v. KBR, Inc.

Dec 16, 2008S.D. Tex.Defendant Win

BNSF Railway Co. v. Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees

Nov 24, 20085th CircuitMixed Result

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. General Motors Corp.

Nov 12, 20085th CircuitRemanded

Lopez-Baca

Nov 3, 2008W.D. Tex.Defendant Win

National Union Fire Insurance v. Mississippi Insurance Guaranty Ass'n

Oct 31, 20085th CircuitDefendant Win

Bally's Park Place, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board

Oct 17, 20085th CircuitDismissed

Bally's Park Place, Inc. v. NLRB

Oct 6, 20085th CircuitDefendant Win

Dumas

Sep 8, 20085th CircuitDefendant Win

Dear

Aug 28, 2008W.D. Tex.Defendant Win

Franks Inv. Co., LLC v. Union Pacific R. Co.

Jul 3, 20085th CircuitDefendant Win

Franks Investment Co., LLC v. Union Pacific Railroad

Jul 3, 20085th CircuitDefendant Win

Lozada

Jul 2, 2008W.D. Tex.Defendant Win

Hernandez

Jun 23, 2008W.D. Tex.Dismissed

In Re Texas Ezpawn Fair Labor Standards Act Lit.

Jun 18, 2008W.D. Tex.Plaintiff Win

Jones

Jun 12, 20085th CircuitDefendant Win

Crocker

Apr 24, 20085th CircuitDefendant Win

Zamora

Apr 10, 2008W.D. Tex.Plaintiff Win

El Paso Electric Co. v. National Labor Relations Board

Apr 3, 20085th CircuitDefendant Win

Schexnayder

Apr 2, 2008M.D. La.Defendant Win

In Re RadioShack Corp. ERISA Litigation

Mar 31, 2008N.D. Tex.Mixed Result

Rainey

Mar 27, 2008E.D. Tex.Defendant Win

Robinson

Mar 13, 20085th CircuitDefendant Win

Read

Mar 7, 20085th CircuitDefendant Win

Haymon

Mar 5, 2008W.D. La.Remanded

Frawley

Jan 22, 2008N.D. Tex.Defendant Win

California Gas Transport, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board

Nov 7, 20075th CircuitDefendant Win

Saadat

Nov 1, 20075th CircuitRemanded

National Union Fire Insurance v. Mississippi Insurance Guaranty Ass'n

Oct 31, 20075th CircuitRemanded

Adams

Oct 30, 20075th CircuitDefendant Win

Boler-Phillips Body Shop, Inc. v. Employers Mutual Casualty Co.

Oct 24, 20075th CircuitDefendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Omni Hotels Management Corp.

Sep 26, 2007N.D. Tex.Defendant Win

Consolidated Companies, Inc. v. Union Pacific Railroad

Aug 28, 20075th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Central Laborers' Pension Fund v. Integrated Electrical Services Inc.

Aug 21, 20075th CircuitDefendant Win

Perches

Aug 16, 2007W.D. Tex.Defendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. WC&M Enterprises, Inc.

Aug 10, 20075th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Showing 451–500 of 730 rulings · Page 10 of 15

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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.