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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

Muffley Ex Rel. NLRB v. Massey Energy Co.

Apr 14, 2008S.D. W. Va.Mixed Result

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Sunbelt Rentals, Inc.

Mar 31, 20084th CircuitRemanded

Eli Lilly and Co. v. SYNTHON LABORATORIES, INC.

Mar 17, 2008E.D. Va.Dismissed

National Labor Relations Board v. HQM of Bayside, LLC

Mar 10, 20084th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Guion

Mar 10, 2008E.D.N.C.Defendant Win

Adams

Mar 10, 20084th CircuitDismissed

Bartel

Mar 6, 2008D. Md.Defendant Win

Mylan Pharmaceuticals, Inc. v. United Steel, Paper & Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial & Service Workers International Union, Local 8-957

Mar 6, 2008N.D. W. Va.Plaintiff Win

Equal Opportunity Commission v. Burlington Medical Supplies, Inc.

Mar 3, 2008E.D. Va.Plaintiff Win

Mbadiwe

Feb 12, 20084th CircuitDefendant Win

Mbadiwe

Feb 12, 20084th CircuitDefendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Firestone Fibers & Textiles Co.

Feb 11, 20084th CircuitDefendant Win

Darveau

Jan 31, 20084th CircuitMixed Result

National Labor Relations Board v. Fairmont General Hospital, Inc.

Jan 24, 20084th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Federal Express Corp.

Jan 23, 20084th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Adams

Jan 11, 20084th CircuitDefendant Win

Parts Depot, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board

Jan 7, 20084th CircuitDefendant Win

Bew

Dec 17, 2007E.D. Va.Mixed Result

Simmons

Dec 14, 2007E.D.N.C.Defendant Win

SNE Enterprises, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board

Dec 7, 20074th CircuitDefendant Win

Smithfield Packing Co. v. National Labor Relations Board

Dec 5, 20074th CircuitMixed Result

Davis

Nov 28, 2007W.D.N.C.Mixed Result

George

Nov 13, 2007N.D. W. Va.Mixed Result

Olvera-Morales

Nov 7, 2007M.D.N.C.Mixed Result

J.D. Ex Rel. Davis v. Kanawha County Board of Education

Oct 22, 2007S.D. W. Va.Dismissed

Caponey

Sep 21, 2007D.S.C.Plaintiff Win

Dicksey

Sep 17, 2007E.D.N.C.Defendant Win

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Lockheed Martin Global Telecommunications, Inc.

Sep 13, 2007D. Md.Defendant Win

Aikens

Sep 13, 2007E.D.N.C.Dismissed

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. LA Weight Loss

Aug 31, 2007D. Md.Mixed Result

Roberts

Aug 27, 2007E.D.N.C.Mixed Result

Centerline Construction Co. v. National Labor Relations Board

Aug 21, 20074th CircuitDefendant Win

Philips

Aug 2, 2007E.D.N.C.Dismissed

Okocha

Jul 9, 20074th CircuitDefendant Win

Segrave Aviation, Inc. v. Pratt & Whitney Canada Corp.

Jul 9, 20074th CircuitDismissed

TNT Logistics of North America, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board

Jul 9, 20074th CircuitDefendant Win

Bajaj

Jul 5, 20074th CircuitMixed Result

Beam

Jun 26, 2007E.D.N.C.Dismissed

Vaughn

Jun 22, 20074th CircuitDefendant Win

Griffin

Jun 20, 20074th CircuitPlaintiff Win

LB&B Associates, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board

May 11, 20074th CircuitPlaintiff Win

National Labor Relations Board v. Standard Register Co.

May 2, 20074th CircuitDefendant Win

Connelly Management, Inc. Employee Welfare Benefit Plan v. North American Indemnity, N.V.

Apr 23, 2007D.S.C.Plaintiff Win

Igwebuike

Apr 20, 20074th CircuitRemanded

Spadaro

Apr 12, 20074th CircuitDefendant Win

Csx Transportation, Incorporated v. Transportation Communications International Union United Transportation Union

Mar 28, 20074th CircuitDefendant Win

CSX Transportation v. Transportation Comm Intl Union

Mar 28, 20074th CircuitDefendant Win

Media General Operations, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board

Mar 15, 20074th CircuitDefendant Win

Immanuel

Feb 23, 20074th CircuitDefendant Win

Amaram

Feb 20, 2007E.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.