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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

Tripp

Nov 19, 2025D. Md.Dismissed

Samuel Sherbrooke Corporate, Ltd v. Gabriel Mayer

Nov 18, 20254th CircuitDefendant Win

Furphy

Nov 17, 2025S.D. W. Va.Mixed Result

Cataffo

Nov 7, 2025S.D. W. Va.Defendant Win

Li

Nov 7, 2025W.D. Va.Defendant Win

Polito

Nov 5, 2025D.S.C.Dismissed

Fennell

Oct 30, 2025D. Md.Defendant Win

Paylor

Oct 30, 2025D. Md.Plaintiff Win

Moore

Oct 29, 2025D. Md.Mixed Result

Mattison

Oct 29, 2025D. Md.Defendant Win

Spraggins

Oct 28, 2025D. Md.Dismissed

Bush

Oct 27, 2025D.S.C.Defendant Win

Jenkins

Oct 23, 2025D.S.C.Dismissed

Robinson

Oct 23, 2025D. Md.Plaintiff Win

Oct 23, 2025S.D. W. Va.Defendant Win

Azimi

Oct 23, 2025W.D. Va.Dismissed

AYERS

Oct 23, 2025M.D.N.C.Defendant Win

Lomax

Oct 22, 2025D.S.C.Remanded

Demurjian

Oct 22, 2025D. Md.Dismissed

Sharp

Oct 16, 2025D. Md.Plaintiff Win

Flack

Oct 15, 2025S.D. W. Va.Dismissed

Nolet

Oct 15, 2025D. Md.Plaintiff Win

Moore

Oct 9, 2025D.S.C.Defendant Win

Reese

Oct 8, 2025D.S.C.Dismissed

Banks

Oct 8, 2025E.D. Va.Defendant Win

Wolff

Oct 7, 2025D.S.C.Dismissed

The Courtland Company, Inc. v. Union Carbide Corporation

Oct 6, 20254th CircuitMixed Result

Hussain

Oct 6, 2025D. Md.Defendant Win

Ragan

Oct 3, 2025D. Md.Defendant Win

Pratt

Oct 2, 2025D.S.C.Defendant Win

Gregory Hanna v. United States Department of Labor

Oct 1, 20254th CircuitDefendant Win

Bell v. Wood County

Oct 1, 2025S.D. W. Va.Dismissed

Blackett

Sep 30, 2025D. Md.Dismissed

Cooper

Sep 30, 2025D. Md.Dismissed

Effland

Sep 30, 2025D. Md.Dismissed

Norris

Sep 30, 2025D.S.C.Dismissed

Morton

Sep 30, 2025E.D. Va.Mixed Result

Marshall

Sep 30, 2025D.S.C.Defendant Win

Adam Strege v. Supreme Court United States

Sep 29, 20254th CircuitDismissed

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION v. TRANSPORTATION MANAGEMENT GROUP

Sep 26, 2025M.D.N.C.Mixed Result

Convisser

Sep 26, 2025W.D. Va.Dismissed

Kimberlin

Sep 25, 2025D. Md.Dismissed

York

Sep 25, 2025E.D.N.C.Dismissed

Millhouse

Sep 25, 2025D.S.C.Defendant Win

Shao

Sep 25, 2025E.D. Va.Defendant Win

Barringer-Brown

Sep 24, 2025E.D. Va.Dismissed

Mulla

Sep 24, 2025S.D. W. Va.Defendant Win

Pratt

Sep 24, 2025E.D. Va.Defendant Win

Whiting-Turner Contracting Company v. Laborers' District Council Pension and Disability Trust Fund No. 2

Sep 23, 2025D. Md.Plaintiff Win

Williams v. Navy Federal Credit Union

Sep 23, 2025E.D. Va.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.