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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

Boles

Dec 9, 2022N.D. Tex.Remanded

Bertrand

Dec 1, 2022E.D. La.Plaintiff Win

Adams

Nov 22, 2022N.D. Tex.Dismissed

Martin

Nov 22, 2022E.D. La.Defendant Win

Carter

Nov 16, 2022N.D. Tex.Plaintiff Win

Washington v. Smith

Nov 8, 2022E.D. La.Plaintiff Win

Kim

Nov 7, 2022E.D. Tex.Plaintiff Win

Hunsinger

Nov 4, 2022N.D. Tex.Remanded

Weisshaus

Oct 27, 2022N.D. Tex.Dismissed

Joganik

Oct 20, 2022E.D. Tex.Remanded

Blalock

Oct 20, 20225th CircuitDefendant Win

Martinez

Oct 19, 2022W.D. Tex.Defendant Win

Layton

Oct 18, 2022N.D. Tex.Defendant Win

McRunells

Oct 13, 2022M.D. La.Defendant Win

Jorge

Oct 7, 2022N.D. Tex.Remanded

Beary

Sep 30, 2022M.D. La.Plaintiff Win

Sanders

Sep 29, 2022E.D. Tex.Plaintiff Win

Martinez

Sep 27, 2022N.D. Tex.Plaintiff Win

Martinez

Sep 27, 2022N.D. Tex.Remanded

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. SDI of Mineola, Texas, L.L.C.

Sep 27, 2022E.D. Tex.Remanded

EEOC v. Ryan's Pointe Houston

Sep 27, 20225th CircuitRemanded

McHenry

Sep 26, 2022E.D. La.Defendant Win

United States Department of Labor v. Paccar, Inc. d/b/a Peterbilt Motors Company

Sep 22, 2022E.D. Tex.Defendant Win

Madden

Sep 20, 2022N.D. Tex.Remanded

Adams

Sep 15, 2022W.D. La.Defendant Win

Moore

Sep 13, 2022N.D. Miss.Dismissed

Adams

Sep 12, 2022S.D. Tex.Mixed Result

National Federation of the Blind of Texas Inc v. City of Arlington Texas

Sep 9, 2022N.D. Tex.Remanded

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. SDI of Mineola, Texas, L.L.C.

Sep 9, 2022E.D. Tex.Mixed Result

Parada

Sep 2, 20225th CircuitRemanded

Robinson

Aug 30, 2022W.D. La.Defendant Win

Bimbo Bakeries USA Inc v. Bakery Confectionery Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union Local 111

Aug 24, 2022N.D. Tex.Remanded

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. CHARLES W. SMITH & SONS FUNERAL HOME INC

Aug 18, 2022E.D. Tex.Mixed Result

Babinski

Aug 17, 2022M.D. La.Mixed Result

Alejandro

Aug 9, 2022E.D. Tex.Defendant Win

Taylor

Aug 9, 2022M.D. La.Plaintiff Win

Taylor

Aug 9, 2022M.D. La.Plaintiff Win

Taylor

Jul 29, 2022M.D. La.Plaintiff Win

Scott

Jul 28, 2022M.D. La.Defendant Win

Fedesna

Jul 27, 20225th CircuitDefendant Win

Union Pac. RR v. City of Palestine

Jul 22, 20225th CircuitDefendant Win

Pimpanit

Jul 20, 2022S.D. Tex.Defendant Win

Adams

Jul 20, 20225th CircuitDismissed

Estrada

Jul 20, 20225th CircuitRemanded

Moore

Jul 14, 2022N.D. Miss.Dismissed

Golden

Jul 11, 2022E.D. Tex.Defendant Win

Thure

Jul 5, 2022S.D. Tex.Plaintiff Win

McAdams

Jun 23, 2022S.D. Miss.Mixed Result

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. American Screening L L C

Jun 15, 2022W.D. La.Remanded

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. American Screening, LLC

Jun 15, 2022E.D. La.Remanded

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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.