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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

Tecnocap, LLC v. NLRB

Jun 17, 20214th CircuitMixed Result

Gue

Jun 14, 2021D. Md.Settlement

Hart

Jun 11, 2021D.S.C.Dismissed

United States of America v. Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings

Jun 7, 2021D.S.C.Mixed Result

Qiydaar

Jun 3, 2021D. Md.Defendant Win

Butterfield

May 24, 2021S.D. W. Va.Defendant Win

Jackson v. Costco Wholesale Corporation

May 18, 2021D.S.C.Remanded

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Stanley Black & Decker, Inc.

May 17, 2021D. Md.Plaintiff Win

Gilmore

May 12, 2021D. Md.Dismissed

Saltz

May 10, 2021D. Md.Defendant Win

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. CACI Secured Transformations, LLC

May 7, 2021D. Md.Plaintiff Win

Simmons-Agnew

May 5, 2021D.S.C.Dismissed

Cockman

May 3, 2021D.S.C.Remanded

Michael Peck v. U.S. Department of Labor

Apr 30, 20214th CircuitDefendant Win

Chestnut

Apr 28, 2021D. Md.Remanded

Want

Apr 28, 2021D. Md.Dismissed

Axiall Corporation v. International Chemical Workers Union Council Of The United Food And Commercial Workers

Apr 22, 2021N.D. W. Va.Defendant Win

Nicholson

Apr 20, 2021D. Md.Plaintiff Win

Boyd

Apr 15, 2021D. Md.Remanded

Doe

Apr 15, 2021D. Md.Defendant Win

Kevin Adams v. Mark Elrich

Apr 15, 20214th CircuitDefendant Win

Fields

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

Bellamy

Apr 1, 2021D. Md.Plaintiff Win

DENNIS. SANDHILLS EMERGENCY PHYSICIANS, P.A.

Mar 30, 2021M.D.N.C.Defendant Win

FARM LABOR ORGANIZING COMMITTEE V. ROY COOPER

Mar 30, 2021M.D.N.C.Mixed Result

Teeters

Mar 29, 2021D. Md.Plaintiff Win

Freedom From Religion Foundation Inc. v. Mercer County Board of Education

Mar 26, 2021S.D. W. Va.Dismissed

Swanson

Mar 25, 2021E.D.N.C.Defendant Win

Jones

Mar 24, 2021D. Md.Settlement

Williams v. American Lumpers Services, LLC

Mar 22, 2021D. Md.Plaintiff Win

Adams

Mar 18, 2021W.D.N.C.Defendant Win

Mahoney

Mar 16, 2021E.D.N.C.Defendant Win

Martin

Mar 15, 2021W.D.N.C.Plaintiff Win

Pate

Mar 15, 2021E.D.N.C.Defendant Win

Adams

Mar 12, 2021W.D. Va.Dismissed

Terry

Mar 11, 2021D.S.C.Defendant Win

Castro

Mar 9, 2021D. Md.Settlement

AMERICAN FEDERATION OF STATE, COUNTY AND MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES, LOCAL 77 v. DUKE UNIVERSITY

Mar 2, 2021M.D.N.C.Mixed Result

Porter

Feb 19, 2021S.D. W. Va.Plaintiff Win

Stafford

Feb 18, 2021E.D.N.C.Plaintiff Win

Raktabutr

Feb 18, 2021D. Md.Dismissed

Axiall Corporation v. International Chemical Workers Union Council Of The United Food And Commercial Workers

Feb 16, 2021N.D. W. Va.Defendant Win

Snodgrass

Feb 10, 2021D. Md.Plaintiff Win

Sheldon

Feb 5, 2021D. Md.Defendant Win

Di Biase v. SPX Corporation

Feb 4, 2021W.D.N.C.Mixed Result

Harrison

Feb 4, 2021D. Md.Defendant Win

Grimes

Feb 1, 2021E.D.N.C.Defendant Win

STEVENS

Jan 22, 2021M.D.N.C.Defendant Win

McBride

Jan 20, 2021D.S.C.Dismissed

White

Jan 20, 2021D. Md.Plaintiff 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.