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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

Adams

Jul 31, 20024th CircuitDismissed

Adams

Jul 31, 20024th CircuitDismissed

Little Rock Electrical Contractors, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board

Jul 26, 20024th CircuitDefendant Win

Thomas

Jul 23, 20024th CircuitDismissed

Sara Lee Bakery Group, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board

Jul 15, 20024th CircuitMixed Result

National Labor Relations Board v. Kentucky Tennessee Clay Company

Jul 12, 20024th CircuitDefendant Win

NLRB v. Kentucky Tennessee

Jul 12, 20024th CircuitDefendant Win

Overnite Transportation Co. v. National Labor Relations Board

Jul 1, 20024th CircuitDefendant Win

Sindram

Jun 14, 20024th CircuitDefendant Win

Wayne J. Griffin Electric, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board

Jun 7, 20024th CircuitDefendant Win

Superformance International, Inc. v. Hartford Casualty Insurance

May 31, 2002E.D. Va.Defendant Win

McNeil

May 24, 2002M.D.N.C.Defendant Win

Adams

May 22, 2002D. Md.Defendant Win

Daniel C. Murray v. United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, Local 400 Donald Cash Christian Sauter

May 10, 20024th CircuitRemanded

Adams

May 7, 2002W.D. Va.Mixed Result

Ernest Scott v. Mason Coal Company Director, Office of Workers' Compensation Programs, United States Department of Labor

May 2, 20024th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Graphic Communications International Union, Local 31-N v. Quebecor Printing (USA) Corp.

Apr 25, 2002D. Md.Remanded

Masada

Apr 25, 20024th CircuitDismissed

Hensley

Apr 23, 2002S.D. W. Va.Remanded

Perdue Farms Inc. v. National Union Fire Insurance Co. of Pittsburgh

Apr 8, 2002D. Md.Defendant Win

Finnie

Apr 3, 2002E.D. Va.Defendant Win

Aneco Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board

Mar 29, 20024th CircuitMixed Result

Speciner

Mar 15, 2002D. Md.Defendant Win

Overnite

Mar 13, 20024th CircuitRemanded

H.P. Hood, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board

Mar 1, 20024th CircuitMixed Result

Adams-Sow

Feb 28, 20024th CircuitDefendant Win

Gantt

Feb 26, 2002M.D.N.C.Defendant Win

RGC (USA) Mineral Sands, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board

Feb 22, 20024th CircuitDefendant Win

Sindram

Feb 21, 20024th CircuitDismissed

Sindram

Feb 21, 20024th CircuitDismissed

EEOC v. Waffle House

Jan 31, 20024th CircuitMixed Result

Carson

Jan 25, 20024th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Robert C. Hensley v. Alcon Laboratories, Inc., a Foreign Corporation, and Alan Modliszewski, an Individual

Jan 22, 20024th CircuitRemanded

Hensley

Jan 22, 20024th CircuitRemanded

Pratt

Jan 10, 20024th CircuitDefendant Win

Morris

Jan 8, 2002N.D. W. Va.Defendant Win

Law

Jan 3, 2002D. Md.Remanded

Union Carbide Corp. v. National Labor Relations Board

Dec 14, 20014th CircuitDefendant Win

Rohan

Dec 3, 2001D. Md.Mixed Result

Glass

Nov 26, 2001D. Md.Defendant Win

Coastal Lumber Co. v. National Labor Relations Board

Oct 30, 20014th CircuitRemanded

National Labor Relations Board v. Pepsi Cola Bottling Co. of Fayetteville, Inc.

Oct 12, 20014th CircuitMixed Result

Hessami

Oct 3, 2001N.D. W. Va.Defendant Win

Adkins

Sep 28, 2001S.D. W. Va.Defendant Win

Adkins

Sep 28, 2001S.D. W. Va.Dismissed

Saunders

Sep 19, 2001D. Md.Dismissed

Weis Markets, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board

Sep 11, 20014th CircuitMixed Result

Vellone

Aug 30, 2001D. Md.Plaintiff Win

Tradesource, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board

Aug 28, 20014th CircuitDefendant Win

Consolidated Diesel Co. v. National Labor Relations Board

Aug 15, 20014th CircuitDefendant 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.