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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

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Exxon Corp.

Oct 30, 2000N.D. Tex.Defendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Premier Operator Services, Inc.

Sep 13, 2000N.D. Tex.Plaintiff Win

Garner

Aug 28, 20005th CircuitDefendant Win

Condere Corporation v. Local Union 303L

Jul 12, 20005th CircuitRemanded

Jones

Jul 7, 2000E.D. Tex.Defendant Win

Erly Industries v. M/V Chada Naree

Jul 7, 20005th CircuitRemanded

Mallard Bay Drilling, Inc. v. Alexis Herman, Secretary of Labor, United States Department of Labor

Jun 2, 20005th CircuitDefendant Win

Local 100, Service Employees International Union v. Integrated Health Services, Inc.

May 23, 2000M.D. La.Dismissed

Scott Underwood Adam v. Itech Oil Company

May 10, 20005th CircuitDefendant Win

Riley

May 1, 20005th CircuitDefendant Win

Vance

Apr 25, 20005th CircuitPlaintiff Win

New Orleans Cold Storage & Warehouse Co., Ltd. v. National Labor Relations Board

Feb 15, 20005th CircuitDefendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Exxon Corp.

Feb 14, 20005th CircuitDefendant Win

Kiger

Feb 11, 20005th CircuitDefendant Win

Fuller

Feb 4, 2000E.D. Tex.Mixed Result

Norris

Jan 31, 20005th CircuitRemanded

Musser Davis Land Co. v. Union Pacific Resources

Jan 21, 20005th CircuitDefendant Win

Jarvis Christian College v. National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Jan 6, 20005th CircuitDefendant Win

Wayne

Nov 24, 1999N.D. Tex.Defendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, - Mary Boyle, Intervenor v. R.J. Gallagher Company

Sep 13, 19995th CircuitMixed Result

Owsley

Sep 13, 19995th CircuitDefendant Win

Pioneer Concrete v. NLRB

Sep 3, 19995th CircuitDefendant Win

Taylor

Jun 28, 1999N.D. Tex.Defendant Win

Lind

Feb 19, 1999N.D. Tex.Defendant Win

Amos

Dec 4, 1998N.D. Tex.Defendant Win

Harriman G. RADFORD, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. GENERAL DYNAMICS CORPORATION, Et Al., Defendants-Appellees

Sep 21, 19985th CircuitDefendant Win

HUBBARD BY HUBBARD v. Buffalo Indep. Sch. Dist.

Sep 1, 1998W.D. Tex.Defendant Win

EEOC v. Wal-Mart Stores Inc

Jul 30, 19985th CircuitDefendant Win

NLRB v. Thermon Heat Tracing

Jun 24, 19985th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Scott FALLO; Kasey Fallo, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. PICCADILLY CAFETERIAS, INC., Defendant-Appellee

May 29, 19985th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Miller v. Rowan Companies, Inc.

May 29, 1998S.D. Miss.Defendant Win

Esquivel

Mar 30, 1998N.D. Tex.Remanded

Abraham

Dec 19, 1997N.D. Tex.Defendant Win

Dancy

Dec 16, 1997E.D. Tex.Defendant Win

Robinson

May 22, 1997E.D. Tex.Defendant Win

Lofton

May 15, 1997N.D. Tex.Defendant Win

Upshaw

Apr 14, 1997N.D. Tex.Defendant Win

Roark

Apr 9, 1997N.D. Tex.Mixed Result

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. R.J. Gallagher Co.

Apr 4, 1997S.D. Tex.Defendant Win

NLRB v. E-Systems, Inc

Jan 16, 19975th CircuitDefendant Win

Smith v. Texaco, Inc.

Jan 2, 1997E.D. Tex.Plaintiff Win

Hughes Christenson v. NLRB

Nov 20, 19965th CircuitDefendant Win

Fuller

Oct 18, 1996E.D. Tex.Remanded

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Fawn Vendors, Inc.

Sep 26, 1996S.D. Tex.Plaintiff Win

Astorga

Sep 11, 1996W.D. Tex.Defendant Win

Jenkins

Aug 22, 1996S.D. Tex.Dismissed

NLRB v. Borden, Inc

Aug 6, 19965th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Jackie SMITH, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. TEXAS CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL, Defendant-Appellant, and UNUM Life Insurance Company, Defendant

May 15, 19965th CircuitRemanded

Hamilton

Aug 9, 1995S.D. Miss.Defendant Win

EEOC v. Clear Lake Dodge

Jul 26, 19955th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Showing 651–700 of 730 rulings · Page 14 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.