Skip to main content

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

Sara Lee Bakery Group, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board

Jan 16, 20085th CircuitMixed Result

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

Nov 16, 2007N.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

Phi

Oct 29, 2007W.D. La.Defendant Win

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

Oct 24, 20075th CircuitDefendant Win

Adams

Oct 18, 20075th CircuitDefendant Win

Consolidated Co Inc v. Union Pacific RR Co

Oct 5, 20075th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Omni Hotels Management Corp.

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

Benson

Sep 18, 20075th CircuitDismissed

Mitchell v. Johnson

Sep 5, 2007E.D. Tex.Remanded

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

Elliott

Aug 17, 2007E.D. Tex.Defendant Win

Perches

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

National Labor Relations Board v. International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Local Union No. 657

Aug 15, 20075th CircuitPlaintiff Win

NLRB v. Intl Brhd

Aug 15, 20075th CircuitPlaintiff Win

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

Aug 10, 20075th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Adams

Aug 6, 20075th CircuitDefendant Win

Stoddard

Jul 31, 2007W.D. Tex.Mixed Result

Strand Theatre of Shreveport Corp. v. National Labor Relations Board

Jul 19, 20075th CircuitDefendant Win

Cypress Pharmaceutical, Inc. v. Tiber Laboratories, LLC

Jul 19, 2007S.D. Miss.Dismissed

Baylor Health Care System v. Employers Reinsurance Corp.

Jul 5, 20075th CircuitPlaintiff Win

HCC Aviation Insurance Group v. Employers Reinsurance Corp.

Jun 28, 20075th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Geeslin

Jun 27, 20075th CircuitDefendant Win

Adams

Jun 25, 20075th CircuitDismissed

National Labor Relations Board v. Allied Aviation Fueling of Dallas LP

Jun 22, 20075th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Jones

Jun 21, 2007N.D. Tex.Dismissed

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Mother's Work Inc.

Jun 21, 20075th CircuitDefendant Win

Adams

Jun 21, 20075th CircuitDefendant Win

Nelson v. University of Texas at Dallas

Jun 7, 2007N.D. Tex.Defendant Win

Cook

Jun 6, 20075th CircuitDismissed

Helton

May 30, 20075th CircuitDefendant Win

Adams

May 24, 20075th CircuitDefendant Win

Adams

May 21, 2007M.D. La.Defendant Win

Severance

May 2, 2007S.D. Tex.Dismissed

Fairley

Apr 25, 2007S.D. Miss.Defendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Stocks, Inc.

Apr 16, 20075th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Burton

Apr 9, 2007N.D. Tex.Mixed Result

Parker

Apr 3, 2007N.D. Tex.Defendant Win

Hopkins

Mar 30, 2007N.D. Tex.Mixed Result

Ollie

Mar 28, 2007E.D. Tex.Mixed Result

Resolution Performance Products, Llc v. Paper Allied Industrial Chemical And Energy Workers International Union, Local 4-1201

Mar 6, 20075th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Resolution Performance Products, LLC v. Paper Allied Industrial Chemical & Energy Workers International Union, Local 4-1201

Mar 6, 20075th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. E.I. Du Pont De Nemours & Co.

Mar 1, 20075th CircuitMixed Result

Villasana

Feb 26, 2007W.D. Tex.Defendant Win

Davidson

Feb 23, 2007E.D. Tex.Plaintiff Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Jefferson Dental Clinics, PA

Feb 12, 20075th CircuitRemanded

Browse Other Circuits

Explore employment rulings from the other federal circuits.

Facing something similar at work?Check your rights — free, private, no sign-up

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.