Skip to main content

Employment Rulings in the Fourth Circuit

The Fourth Circuit covers the federal courts in Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia. The rulings below come from the circuit's court of appeals and the federal trial courts within it.

Of the 1,919 published rulings we track here (19732026), 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 1,919 published rulings we track in the Fourth Circuit.

Defendant Win
802 (42%)
Dismissed
356 (19%)
Mixed Result
284 (15%)
Plaintiff Win
276 (14%)
Remanded
165 (9%)
Settlement
36 (2%)

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 1,893 rulings we could classify by stage were decided.

Appeal
879 (46%)

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
305 (16%)

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 305 summary-judgment rulings here, 200 ended the case in the employer’s favor and 105 let the worker’s claims continue.

Motion to dismiss
606 (32%)

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

Trial verdict
46 (2%)

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

Settlement / consent decree
34 (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
13 (1%)

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

Other rulings
10 (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 Fourth Circuit covers.

Recent Rulings in the Fourth Circuit

Bowling

Apr 18, 2024D. Md.Defendant Win

Charlotte MacBagito v. Pentagon Federal Credit Union

Apr 15, 20244th CircuitDefendant Win

Corley

Apr 10, 2024D.S.C.Defendant Win

Nathaniel Nolan v. Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings

Apr 10, 20244th CircuitMixed Result

BOVA

Apr 4, 2024M.D.N.C.Defendant Win

Diaz Mancilla v. Chesapeake Outdoor Services, LLC

Apr 4, 2024D. Md.Plaintiff Win

Gasper

Apr 3, 2024W.D.N.C.Defendant Win

Gautier

Mar 31, 2024S.D. W. Va.Dismissed

Clean Juice Franchising, LLC v. Charleston Juicing, LLC

Mar 29, 2024W.D.N.C.Mixed Result

Hall

Mar 29, 2024D. Md.Dismissed

Firestone

Mar 28, 2024D.S.C.Mixed Result

Bellon

Mar 27, 2024N.D. W. Va.Mixed Result

SULLIVAN

Mar 27, 2024M.D.N.C.Defendant Win

Estate of DaMon R. Fisher v. City of Annapolis

Mar 27, 2024D. Md.Plaintiff Win

Yomi

Mar 12, 2024D. Md.Plaintiff Win

Gaske

Mar 11, 2024D. Md.Plaintiff Win

BONE

Mar 8, 2024M.D.N.C.Mixed Result

Hutty

Mar 8, 2024D. Md.Defendant Win

Daniels

Mar 8, 2024D. Md.Dismissed

David

Mar 8, 2024D. Md.Defendant Win

Karroll

Mar 7, 2024D.S.C.Defendant Win

Plummer

Mar 6, 2024D. Md.Defendant Win

Mendoza

Mar 5, 2024D. Md.Remanded

White

Mar 4, 2024D.S.C.Dismissed

Jensen

Feb 27, 2024D. Md.Mixed Result

Tatiana Cuenca-Vidarte v. Michaele Samuel

Feb 15, 20244th CircuitMixed Result

Heimpel

Feb 7, 2024D. Md.Defendant Win

Wilson

Feb 5, 2024D. Md.Plaintiff Win

Yearick

Feb 2, 2024D. Md.Plaintiff Win

Holt

Feb 1, 2024D.S.C.Defendant Win

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Wal-Mart Stores East, LP

Jan 30, 2024S.D. W. Va.Dismissed

GOLDEN

Jan 29, 2024M.D.N.C.Defendant Win

Guzman

Jan 22, 2024D. Md.Defendant Win

Sama

Jan 10, 2024D. Md.Mixed Result

Movement Mortgage LLC v. Summit Funding, Inc.

Jan 4, 2024W.D.N.C.Mixed Result

Mills

Dec 22, 2023S.D. W. Va.Defendant Win

Yearick

Dec 21, 2023D. Md.Defendant Win

Bonner

Dec 20, 2023D. Md.Plaintiff Win

Pitts

Dec 20, 2023D. Md.Defendant Win

Allen

Dec 19, 2023E.D.N.C.Dismissed

Clark v. Sampson Regional Medical Center, Incorporated

Dec 14, 2023E.D.N.C.Mixed Result

Proctor

Dec 7, 2023D. Md.Plaintiff Win

Lewis

Dec 7, 2023D. Md.Mixed Result

Togba

Nov 22, 2023D. Md.Defendant Win

Smith v. South Carolina

Nov 13, 2023D.S.C.Mixed Result

Lewis

Nov 3, 2023D. Md.Defendant Win

Hernandez

Oct 26, 2023D. Md.Plaintiff Win

Ikome

Oct 20, 2023D. Md.Plaintiff Win

Brett

Oct 17, 2023D.S.C.Mixed Result

Akozer

Oct 17, 2023E.D.N.C.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.