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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

Hispanic National Law Enforcement Association NCR v. Prince George's County

Jan 19, 2021D. Md.Defendant Win

Benitez Gonzalez v. O. J. Smith Farms, Inc.

Jan 13, 2021E.D.N.C.Remanded

Rickel

Jan 12, 2021D.S.C.Remanded

Bocangel

Jan 12, 2021D. Md.Mixed Result

Duffey

Jan 7, 2021D.S.C.Defendant Win

Department Of Labor v. Sofia & Gicelle, Inc.

Dec 30, 2020D. Md.Plaintiff Win

Rosinbaum

Dec 29, 2020E.D.N.C.Remanded

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Enoch Pratt Free Library

Dec 23, 2020D. Md.Plaintiff Win

Studco Building Systems US, LLC v. 1st Advantage Federal Credit Union

Dec 18, 2020E.D. Va.Mixed Result

Laufer

Dec 16, 2020D. Md.Defendant Win

Allen

Dec 14, 2020D.S.C.Defendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Joe's Old Fashioned Bar-B-Que, Inc.

Dec 11, 2020W.D.N.C.Defendant Win

Greenwell

Dec 4, 2020E.D.N.C.Mixed Result

Laufer

Dec 3, 2020D. Md.Remanded

Nguyen

Nov 30, 2020D. Md.Defendant Win

Graham

Nov 23, 2020D. Md.Plaintiff Win

Laufer

Nov 19, 2020D. Md.Defendant Win

Means

Nov 13, 2020S.D. W. Va.Mixed Result

Gary Adams v. American Optical Corporation

Nov 6, 20204th CircuitDefendant Win

Cummins

Nov 6, 2020D. Md.Defendant Win

Sheldon

Nov 6, 2020D. Md.Defendant Win

Baxter

Nov 4, 2020D. Md.Remanded

Pontones

Nov 2, 2020E.D.N.C.Dismissed

The Estate of Malcolm J. Bryant v. Baltimore City Police Department

Oct 29, 2020D. Md.Defendant Win

Allen

Oct 20, 2020D. Md.Remanded

Rios

Oct 13, 2020D. Md.Defendant Win

Bugoni

Oct 9, 2020D. Md.Defendant Win

Terry

Oct 7, 2020D.S.C.Defendant Win

Parker

Sep 30, 2020D.S.C.Defendant Win

Lee v. Solar Energy World, LLC

Sep 30, 2020D. Md.Defendant Win

Alton Adams v. David Pritchard

Sep 30, 20204th CircuitDefendant Win

Alton Adams v. J. K. Burbage

Sep 30, 20204th CircuitDefendant Win

Hager

Sep 29, 2020S.D. W. Va.Remanded

Lerch

Sep 25, 2020D. Md.Mixed Result

Roy

Sep 23, 2020S.D. W. Va.Dismissed

Nnorom

Sep 23, 2020E.D. Va.Defendant Win

Mauro

Sep 21, 2020N.D. W. Va.Dismissed

AJIT BOBBY SOOD v. TEMPUR SEALY INTERNATIONAL, INC.

Sep 21, 2020M.D.N.C.Defendant Win

Mack Trucks, Inc. v. International Union United Automobile Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, UAW

Sep 3, 2020D. Md.Defendant Win

Gavin Grimm v. Gloucester County School Board

Aug 31, 20204th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Altaweel

Aug 24, 2020E.D.N.C.Mixed Result

Lillard

Aug 21, 2020D. Md.Defendant Win

Chaten

Aug 14, 2020D. Md.Plaintiff Win

Salmon

Aug 13, 2020D. Md.Defendant Win

Rueda

Aug 5, 2020D. Md.Mixed Result

American Federation of Government Employees v. Office of Special Counsel

Aug 3, 2020D. Md.Defendant Win

Marzett

Jul 30, 2020E.D. Va.Plaintiff Win

Lupardus

Jul 28, 2020S.D. W. Va.Dismissed

Rice

Jul 21, 2020D.S.C.Remanded

Teeters

Jul 16, 2020D. Md.Defendant 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.