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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

Peabody Holding Co. v. United Mine Workers International Union

Aug 28, 2014E.D. Va.Defendant Win

Warren

Jul 31, 20144th CircuitDefendant Win

David Warren v. Tri Tech Laboratories, Inc.

Jul 31, 20144th CircuitDefendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. A.C. Widenhouse, Inc.

Jun 24, 20144th CircuitPlaintiff Win

NISH

Jun 23, 20144th CircuitDefendant Win

Enoch

Jun 2, 20144th CircuitDefendant Win

Njuguna

Apr 11, 2014E.D.N.C.Defendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Baltimore County

Mar 31, 20144th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Dickenson-Russell Coal Company v. Secretary of Labor

Mar 27, 20144th CircuitMixed Result

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Propak Logistics, Inc.

Mar 25, 20144th CircuitDefendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Performance Food Group, Inc.

Mar 11, 2014D. Md.Defendant Win

Laborers' Dist. Council Pension & Disability Trust Fund No. 2 v. Geofreeze, Inc.

Mar 11, 2014D. Md.Defendant Win

Diane Rosenberg v. Lucrezia Canaday

Mar 11, 20144th CircuitDismissed

Adams

Mar 4, 20144th CircuitDefendant Win

Carolyn Adams v. Sheppard Pratt Health System

Mar 4, 20144th CircuitDefendant Win

Sisk

Feb 10, 2014W.D.N.C.Defendant Win

Raw Coal Mining Company, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor

Feb 5, 20144th CircuitDefendant Win

Raw Coal Mining Company, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor

Feb 4, 20144th CircuitDefendant Win

Ladeairous

Jan 28, 20144th CircuitDefendant Win

Joseph Ladeairous v. Eddie Pearson

Jan 28, 20144th CircuitDefendant Win

Warren

Jan 23, 2014W.D. Va.Defendant Win

Lincoln v. Employment Services

Jan 23, 20144th CircuitDefendant Win

William Lincoln, Jr. v. Employment Services

Jan 23, 20144th CircuitDefendant Win

Felt v. MEI Technologies, Inc.

Dec 31, 2013D. Md.Dismissed

Baiden-Adams

Dec 20, 2013E.D. Va.Defendant Win

International Waste Industries Corp. v. Cape Environmental Management, Inc.

Dec 19, 2013D. Md.Dismissed

National Treasury Employees Union v. Federal Labor Relations Authority

Dec 6, 20134th CircuitRemanded

Jack

Nov 8, 20134th CircuitDefendant Win

Todd Jack v. Virginia Employment Commission

Nov 8, 20134th CircuitDefendant Win

Banks

Nov 1, 20134th CircuitDismissed

William Banks, Jr. v. Government Employees Insurance

Nov 1, 20134th CircuitDefendant Win

Gestamp South Carolina, L.L.C. v. National Labor Relations Board

Oct 16, 20134th CircuitDefendant Win

Gestamp South Carolina, L.L.C. v. NLRB

Oct 16, 20134th CircuitRemanded

Lester

Sep 27, 20134th CircuitDefendant Win

Steve Lester v. In Employee LT Church

Sep 27, 20134th CircuitDefendant Win

Cepada

Sep 23, 2013D. Md.Defendant Win

Westmoreland Coal Co. v. Director, Office of Workers' Compensation Programs, United States Department of Labor

Sep 6, 20134th CircuitRemanded

Baiden-Adams

Sep 4, 2013E.D. Va.Dismissed

Freeman

Aug 9, 2013D. Md.Defendant Win

Tommy Stevens v. Unknown Name Employee(s) of US

Jul 22, 20134th CircuitDismissed

International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, AFL-CIO, Local Union No. 289 v. Verizon South, Inc.

Jul 19, 20134th CircuitPlaintiff Win

National Labor Relations Board v. Enterprise Leasing Co. Southeast, LLC

Jul 17, 20134th CircuitDefendant Win

Flournoy v. South Carolina Department of Employment & Workforce

Jun 25, 20134th CircuitDefendant Win

Chamber of Commerce v. National Labor Relations Board

Jun 14, 20134th CircuitDefendant Win

Deborah Adams v. Kroger Limited Partnership I

Jun 12, 20134th CircuitRemanded

Banks

May 22, 20134th CircuitDefendant Win

Adam

May 17, 20134th CircuitDefendant Win

Abdou-Malik Adam v. Wells Fargo Bank

May 17, 20134th CircuitDefendant Win

Lee Farkas v. National Union Fire Insurance

Apr 11, 20134th CircuitDefendant Win

Pagidipati Enterprises, Inc. v. Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings

Apr 11, 20134th CircuitPlaintiff 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.