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

KADEL

Mar 11, 2020M.D.N.C.Defendant Win

MacBagito

Mar 10, 2020D. Md.Remanded

Baylor

Mar 6, 2020D. Md.Defendant Win

Webb

Mar 6, 2020D. Md.Dismissed

Doe

Mar 5, 2020D.S.C.Remanded

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

Mar 4, 2020D. Md.Remanded

Kenan

Mar 2, 2020W.D.N.C.Mixed Result

Scott

Feb 27, 2020N.D. W. Va.Dismissed

Trustees of the Iron Workers Local Union No. 5 and Iron Workers Employers Association Employee Pension Trust v. Facade Install Operating Co., D.C., Inc.

Feb 27, 2020D. Md.Mixed Result

Rogers v. Kaiser Foundation Health Plaintif of Mid-Atlantic States, Inc.

Feb 25, 2020D. Md.Mixed Result

Hart

Feb 12, 2020W.D.N.C.Defendant Win

Terracon Consultants Inc v. Insight Group LLC

Feb 10, 2020D.S.C.Defendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Spencer Gifts, LLC

Feb 7, 2020W.D.N.C.Plaintiff Win

PRICE

Feb 6, 2020M.D.N.C.Mixed Result

Wedderburn

Jan 23, 2020D. Md.Defendant Win

Ramadan

Jan 17, 2020E.D. Va.Dismissed

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc.

Jan 16, 2020D. Md.Settlement

Brooks

Jan 16, 2020D. Md.Defendant Win

Trump

Jan 15, 2020D. Md.Defendant Win

CVS

Jan 14, 2020D. Md.Plaintiff Win

Williams v. South Carolina Workers Compensation Commission

Jan 13, 2020D.S.C.Dismissed

Trustees of the Ironworkers Local Union No. 16 Pension Plan v. Bryant Concrete Construction, Inc.

Jan 10, 2020D. Md.Plaintiff Win

Crisell Seguin v. US Department of Labor

Jan 9, 20204th CircuitDismissed

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION v. 1618 CONCEPTS, INC.

Jan 7, 2020M.D.N.C.Mixed Result

IHS Global Limited v. Trade Data Monitor LLC

Dec 23, 2019D.S.C.Defendant Win

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Dolgencorp, LLC

Dec 23, 2019D. Md.Plaintiff Win

EEOC v. M&T Bank

Dec 19, 2019D. Md.Mixed Result

Carbaugh

Dec 16, 2019D. Md.Defendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Spencer Gifts, LLC

Dec 11, 2019W.D.N.C.Plaintiff Win

Hayes

Dec 11, 2019D. Md.Defendant Win

Feinberg

Dec 3, 2019D. Md.Mixed Result

Lee v. Argent Trust Company

Nov 25, 2019E.D.N.C.Mixed Result

Michael Battle v. Lowell Mcadams

Nov 21, 20194th CircuitDismissed

Sloan

Nov 20, 2019D. Md.Defendant Win

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Optimal Solutions & Technologies (OST, Inc.)

Nov 19, 2019D. Md.Mixed Result

Knox v. Hooper's Crab House, Inc.

Nov 18, 2019D. Md.Settlement

Coleman

Nov 7, 2019E.D.N.C.Mixed Result

Sellers

Nov 6, 2019D.S.C.Plaintiff Win

Lewis

Nov 5, 2019N.D. W. Va.Remanded

Gittens

Nov 5, 2019W.D.N.C.Dismissed

EEOC v. Baltimore County

Oct 28, 2019D. Md.Plaintiff Win

Zatezalo

Oct 16, 2019S.D. W. Va.Dismissed

Amaya Diaz v. Pho Eatery, Inc.

Oct 11, 2019D. Md.Mixed Result

EEOC v. M&T Bank

Oct 2, 2019D. Md.Mixed Result

Government Employees Health Association v. Actelion Pharmaceuticals Ltd.

Sep 30, 2019D. Md.Defendant Win

Rouse

Sep 30, 2019D. Md.Dismissed

Castillo

Sep 30, 2019D. Md.Defendant Win

Walker

Sep 27, 2019S.D. W. Va.Mixed Result

The Ohio Valley Coal Company v. United Mine Workers of America International Union

Sep 27, 2019N.D. W. Va.Defendant Win

Taylor

Sep 27, 2019D.S.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.