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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

Earl

Sep 29, 2021D. Md.Plaintiff Win

Hamada

Sep 27, 2021D.S.C.Defendant Win

Anderson

Sep 27, 2021D.S.C.Mixed Result

Macedo

Sep 24, 2021D. Md.Mixed Result

Nicholson

Sep 23, 2021E.D. Va.Defendant Win

Mazariegos

Sep 23, 2021D. Md.Remanded

Shadahan

Sep 21, 2021N.D. W. Va.Defendant Win

Allen

Sep 21, 2021D. Md.Plaintiff Win

Woods

Sep 17, 2021D.S.C.Dismissed

Cudd

Sep 16, 2021W.D.N.C.Dismissed

Markus

Sep 14, 2021S.D. W. Va.Dismissed

Oglesby

Sep 14, 2021D.S.C.Dismissed

Jardaneh

Sep 14, 2021D. Md.Mixed Result

ADAMS

Sep 9, 2021M.D.N.C.Remanded

Townsend

Sep 9, 2021D. Md.Remanded

Hathaway

Sep 7, 2021W.D.N.C.Plaintiff Win

Aramayo

Aug 31, 2021D. Md.Defendant Win

Vertellus Holdings LLC v. W.R. Grace & Co.-Conn.

Aug 30, 2021D. Md.Remanded

Want

Aug 30, 2021D. Md.Dismissed

Hogan

Aug 23, 2021D. Md.Plaintiff Win

FARM LABOR ORGANIZING COMMITTEE V. ROY COOPER

Aug 18, 2021M.D.N.C.Plaintiff Win

Azar

Aug 16, 2021D. Md.Defendant Win

Taccino

Aug 12, 2021D. Md.Dismissed

Taccino

Aug 12, 2021D. Md.Mixed Result

Philips North America LLC v. Probo Medical, LLC

Aug 11, 2021S.D. W. Va.Mixed Result

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Ecology Services, Inc.

Aug 11, 2021D. Md.Defendant Win

Baker

Aug 10, 2021S.D. W. Va.Dismissed

Department Of Labor v. Sofia & Gicelle, Inc.

Aug 5, 2021D. Md.Plaintiff Win

Baker

Aug 2, 2021S.D. W. Va.Mixed Result

Baker

Jul 30, 2021S.D. W. Va.Defendant Win

Baker

Jul 30, 2021S.D. W. Va.Dismissed

Adams

Jul 29, 2021D.S.C.Dismissed

Curry

Jul 29, 2021D. Md.Settlement

Hammons

Jul 28, 2021D. Md.Defendant Win

Adams

Jul 27, 2021D.S.C.Plaintiff Win

Hartnett

Jul 20, 2021W.D.N.C.Settlement

Rivera

Jul 20, 2021D. Md.Plaintiff Win

Driskell

Jul 19, 2021W.D.N.C.Plaintiff Win

Melada

Jul 19, 2021D. Md.Mixed Result

Crouch

Jul 15, 2021S.D. W. Va.Dismissed

Anpu El v. Walker Mews Apartments

Jul 13, 2021D. Md.Defendant Win

Lupardus

Jul 6, 2021S.D. W. Va.Defendant Win

United States of America v. Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings

Jul 6, 2021D.S.C.Mixed Result

Molina

Jul 6, 2021D. Md.Mixed Result

Bellon

Jun 28, 2021N.D. W. Va.Defendant Win

United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. MSDS Consultant Services, LLC

Jun 25, 2021D. Md.Plaintiff Win

Want

Jun 24, 2021D. Md.Dismissed

Ebaugh

Jun 23, 2021D. Md.Remanded

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Route 22 Sports Bar, Inc.

Jun 22, 2021N.D. W. Va.Mixed Result

Michael Peck v. U.S. Department of Labor

Jun 21, 20214th CircuitDefendant Win

Browse Other Circuits

Explore employment rulings from the other federal 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.