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

SEMS, Inc. v. Lee

Sep 21, 2023M.D. La.Remanded

Robinson

Sep 12, 2023E.D. La.Defendant Win

CARROLL

Sep 1, 2023E.D. Tex.Remanded

Kiewit Offshore Services, Ltd. v. U.S. Department of Labor

Aug 29, 2023S.D. Tex.Defendant Win

Escobedo

Aug 25, 2023S.D. Tex.Defendant Win

Trevino

Aug 24, 2023S.D. Tex.Defendant Win

Thomas

Aug 15, 2023S.D. Tex.Dismissed

Moore

Aug 9, 2023S.D. Tex.Defendant Win

Staples

Aug 9, 2023W.D. La.Mixed Result

Massey

Aug 8, 2023E.D. La.Defendant Win

The Estate of Terry Gentry v. Hamilton-Ryker IT Solutions, LLC

Aug 7, 2023S.D. Tex.Dismissed

Carter

Aug 7, 2023N.D. Tex.Plaintiff Win

LaFrance

Aug 2, 2023W.D. La.Defendant Win

Moore

Aug 2, 2023E.D. La.Defendant Win

Gates

Jul 27, 2023E.D. La.Defendant Win

Wright

Jul 26, 2023S.D. Tex.Defendant Win

Tesla

Jul 21, 20235th CircuitRemanded

Myrick

Jul 12, 2023E.D. Tex.Plaintiff Win

Jackson v. Chalmette Refining, L.L.C.

Jul 7, 2023E.D. La.Defendant Win

Freeman

Jun 27, 2023W.D. La.Defendant Win

Hamid

Jun 23, 2023S.D. Tex.Dismissed

Crocker

Jun 22, 2023W.D. La.Settlement

Braidwood Management v. EEOC

Jun 20, 20235th CircuitDefendant Win

Adams

Jun 12, 2023W.D. Tex.Mixed Result

Laborde

Jun 12, 20235th CircuitDismissed

Ettorre

Jun 10, 2023S.D. Tex.Plaintiff Win

Adams

Jun 7, 2023W.D. Tex.Dismissed

Menger

May 30, 2023E.D. Tex.Dismissed

Cairns

May 25, 2023E.D. Tex.Defendant Win

Gadasalli

May 22, 2023E.D. Tex.Dismissed

Ash

May 16, 2023W.D. La.Defendant Win

Bellard

May 5, 2023S.D. Tex.Defendant Win

Troulliet

Apr 11, 2023E.D. La.Dismissed

Lambert

Apr 4, 2023W.D. Tex.Defendant Win

Worrall

Mar 22, 2023N.D. Tex.Remanded

Martinez

Feb 28, 2023N.D. Tex.Mixed Result

Washington v. Smith

Feb 9, 2023E.D. La.Defendant Win

Bennett

Feb 7, 2023N.D. Tex.Settlement

Kunze

Feb 6, 2023N.D. Tex.Remanded

Massey

Jan 30, 2023E.D. La.Remanded

Brown

Jan 23, 2023N.D. Tex.Remanded

Bertrand

Jan 23, 2023E.D. La.Defendant Win

Stewart

Jan 19, 2023M.D. La.Plaintiff Win

Strong

Jan 17, 2023N.D. Tex.Dismissed

Hill

Jan 10, 2023N.D. Tex.Dismissed

Knox-Colburn

Jan 10, 2023N.D. Miss.Dismissed

Chamberlain

Jan 3, 2023S.D. Tex.Defendant Win

Brown

Dec 19, 2022N.D. Tex.Defendant Win

Evans

Dec 15, 2022E.D. Tex.Dismissed

Foran

Dec 14, 2022S.D. Tex.Dismissed

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.