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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 1,704 published rulings we track here (19702026), 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 1,704 published rulings we track in the Fifth Circuit.

Defendant Win
726 (43%)
Dismissed
285 (17%)
Mixed Result
263 (15%)
Plaintiff Win
208 (12%)
Remanded
173 (10%)
Settlement
49 (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 1,689 rulings we could classify by stage were decided.

Appeal
766 (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
297 (18%)

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 297 summary-judgment rulings here, 188 ended the case in the employer’s favor and 108 let the worker’s claims continue; the rest resolved in other ways.

Motion to dismiss
505 (30%)

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

Trial verdict
40 (2%)

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

Settlement / consent decree
42 (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
15 (1%)

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

Other rulings
24 (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

Louis Adams v. Chevron USA, Inc.

Jun 24, 20105th CircuitPlaintiff Win

National Labor Relations Board v. Coastal Cargo Co.

Jun 24, 20105th CircuitRemanded

Bentonite

Jun 24, 20105th CircuitRemanded

Pedigo

Jun 17, 2010W.D. Tex.Plaintiff Win

FEMA

Jun 2, 20105th CircuitRemanded

Riley v. School Board Union Parish

May 20, 20105th CircuitDefendant Win

First Bank & Trust v. Employers Mutual Casualty Co.

May 7, 2010S.D. Miss.Defendant Win

Craven

Apr 27, 20105th CircuitDismissed

REUNION, INC. v. Federal Aviation Administration

Mar 30, 2010S.D. Miss.Defendant Win

Adams

Mar 9, 20105th CircuitDefendant Win

Drummond American, LLC v. Share Corp.

Mar 8, 2010E.D. Tex.Plaintiff Win

Folger Coffee Company v. International Union, et a

Mar 8, 20105th CircuitDefendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Air Liquide USA LLC

Mar 3, 2010S.D. Tex.Mixed Result

Tradearbed Inc. v. Western Bulk Carriers K/S

Jan 26, 20105th CircuitPlaintiff Win

TradeArbed Inc v. Medi Trader MV

Jan 26, 20105th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Franks Investment Co. LLC v. Union Pacific Railroad

Jan 6, 20105th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Trinity Universal Insurance v. Employers Mutual Casualty Co.

Jan 4, 20105th CircuitMixed Result

ESN, LLC v. Cisco Systems, Inc.

Dec 30, 2009E.D. Tex.Defendant Win

Illinois Central Railroad v. Harried

Dec 30, 2009S.D. Miss.Mixed Result

Alaniz

Dec 21, 20095th CircuitMixed Result

Hoog-Watson

Dec 16, 20095th CircuitRemanded

Agee v. WAYNE FARMS LLC

Dec 16, 2009S.D. Miss.Mixed Result

Miller v. Blattner

Dec 14, 2009E.D. La.Mixed Result

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

Pedigo v. 3003 SOUTH LAMAR, LLP

Oct 30, 2009W.D. Tex.Plaintiff Win

Adair

Oct 28, 20095th CircuitDefendant Win

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Sfaila, LLC

Oct 21, 2009E.D. La.Mixed Result

Adams

Sep 30, 2009S.D. Miss.Mixed Result

Harris v. Auxilium Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Sep 28, 2009S.D. Tex.Mixed Result

Altimari

Sep 17, 2009E.D. Tex.Defendant Win

Bivens

Sep 3, 20095th CircuitDefendant Win

McMurray

Aug 28, 20095th CircuitDefendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Exxon Mobil Corp.

Aug 28, 20095th CircuitRemanded

National Union Fire Insurance v. Puget Plastics Corp.

Aug 12, 2009S.D. Tex.Mixed Result

Clarke

Jul 14, 2009N.D. Tex.Defendant Win

Martin

Jul 13, 2009E.D. Tex.Defendant Win

BNSF Railway Co. v. United Transportation Union

Jul 13, 20095th CircuitDefendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Columbia Sussex Corp.

Jun 29, 2009M.D. La.Mixed Result

Radar Solutions, Ltd. v. United States Federal Communications Commission

Jun 24, 2009W.D. Tex.Defendant Win

Frawley

Jun 17, 20095th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Stone v. Unocal Termination

Jun 17, 20095th CircuitDefendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Chevron Phillips Chemical Co.

Jun 5, 20095th CircuitMixed Result

Shockey

Jun 5, 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

Coastal International Security Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board

Apr 9, 20095th CircuitDefendant Win

Gauthier

Mar 25, 2009E.D. Tex.Mixed Result

Rodriguez-Valladares

Mar 20, 20095th CircuitDefendant Win

Ashfaq

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

Browse Other Circuits

Explore employment rulings from the other federal 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.