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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

Estrada

Dec 10, 2024S.D. Tex.Mixed Result

Herridge

Dec 10, 2024S.D. Tex.Settlement

Hossain

Dec 9, 2024N.D. Tex.Dismissed

Capstone Logistics v. NLRB

Nov 25, 20245th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Gonzalez

Nov 21, 2024W.D. Tex.Plaintiff Win

Reeder

Nov 21, 2024N.D. Tex.Dismissed

Martinez

Nov 20, 2024N.D. Tex.Dismissed

LiVolsi

Nov 15, 2024W.D. Tex.Dismissed

Mapes

Nov 14, 2024S.D. Tex.Remanded

Navarro

Nov 13, 2024W.D. Tex.Defendant Win

O'Con

Nov 8, 2024N.D. Tex.Dismissed

Thomas

Nov 7, 2024S.D. Tex.Dismissed

Arenivas

Nov 4, 2024N.D. Tex.Defendant Win

BAUTISTA

Nov 1, 2024W.D. Tex.Mixed Result

Branch

Oct 30, 2024N.D. Miss.Dismissed

Hornsby

Oct 28, 2024N.D. Tex.Dismissed

Ross

Oct 28, 2024N.D. Tex.Defendant Win

Brown

Oct 28, 2024M.D. La.Defendant Win

Tesla

Oct 25, 20245th CircuitMixed Result

Taylor

Oct 22, 2024S.D. Miss.Defendant Win

Badon

Oct 22, 20245th CircuitDismissed

Govea

Oct 21, 2024W.D. La.Mixed Result

Dean

Oct 18, 2024N.D. Tex.Mixed Result

Thomas

Oct 10, 2024N.D. Tex.Defendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Council for Advancement of Social Services & Education Community Health Institute

Oct 10, 2024W.D. La.Defendant Win

Boudreaux

Oct 10, 20245th CircuitDismissed

Brown

Oct 7, 2024N.D. Tex.Dismissed

Henderson v. United States

Oct 7, 2024N.D. Tex.Dismissed

Asante-Chioke

Oct 4, 2024E.D. La.Dismissed

Odeh

Oct 4, 2024E.D. La.Defendant Win

Govea

Oct 1, 2024W.D. La.Dismissed

Interiano

Oct 1, 2024E.D. La.Dismissed

Mertens

Sep 30, 2024W.D. Tex.Dismissed

Gordon

Sep 30, 2024E.D. La.Defendant Win

McGee

Sep 27, 2024N.D. Tex.Dismissed

Adams

Sep 25, 2024W.D. La.Dismissed

Hobson

Sep 24, 2024N.D. Tex.Dismissed

Westbrook

Sep 19, 2024N.D. Tex.Dismissed

Hudson Inst of Proc Rsrch v. NLRB

Sep 18, 20245th CircuitMixed Result

Tubbs

Sep 18, 2024N.D. Tex.Dismissed

Grant

Sep 17, 2024E.D. La.Dismissed

Pickett

Sep 16, 2024N.D. Tex.Dismissed

Cormier

Sep 11, 2024W.D. Tex.Remanded

Breaux

Sep 5, 2024E.D. La.Mixed Result

Reis

Sep 3, 2024W.D. Tex.Dismissed

Chapman

Aug 30, 2024N.D. Tex.Defendant Win

EL PASO DISPOSAL, LP v. ECUBE LABS CO. d/b/a HAULLA SERVICES

Aug 30, 2024W.D. Tex.Dismissed

Vann

Aug 30, 2024S.D. Miss.Mixed Result

Celestine

Aug 28, 2024N.D. Tex.Dismissed

Dotson

Aug 27, 2024N.D. Tex.Mixed Result

Browse Other 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.