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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 829 published rulings we track here (1976–2026), 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 829 published rulings we track in the Fourth Circuit.

Defendant Win
362 (44%)
Plaintiff Win
144 (17%)
Dismissed
118 (14%)
Mixed Result
102 (12%)
Remanded
61 (7%)
Settlement
42 (5%)

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 825 rulings we could classify by stage were decided.

Appeal
320 (39%)

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
159 (19%)

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 159 summary-judgment rulings here, 112 ended the case in the employer’s favor and 47 let the worker’s claims continue.

Motion to dismiss
259 (31%)

An early request — usually by the employer — to throw the case out before any evidence is gathered.

Trial verdict
22 (3%)

A judge or jury heard the evidence and reached a decision. Relatively few disputes get this far.

Settlement / consent decree
41 (5%)

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
21 (3%)

A decision entered because one side did not respond to the case at all.

Other rulings
3 (0%)

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

Chavarria

May 21, 2024D. Md.Settlement

Witherspoon

May 13, 2024E.D.N.C.Defendant Win

Garcia

May 3, 2024D.S.C.Dismissed

Key

Apr 24, 2024D. Md.Dismissed

Henderson v. Tower Federal Credit Union

Apr 22, 2024D. Md.Dismissed

Charlotte MacBagito v. Pentagon Federal Credit Union

Apr 15, 20244th CircuitDefendant Win

Nathaniel Nolan v. Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings

Apr 10, 20244th CircuitMixed Result

Gasper

Apr 3, 2024W.D.N.C.Defendant Win

DelCid

Mar 29, 2024D. Md.Plaintiff Win

Hall

Mar 29, 2024D. Md.Dismissed

SULLIVAN

Mar 27, 2024M.D.N.C.Defendant Win

Hutty

Mar 8, 2024D. Md.Defendant Win

David

Mar 8, 2024D. Md.Dismissed

Plummer

Mar 6, 2024D. Md.Defendant Win

Mendoza

Mar 5, 2024D. Md.Settlement

Hine

Mar 4, 2024D. Md.Mixed Result

Su

Feb 16, 2024D. Md.Mixed Result

Evans

Feb 9, 2024E.D.N.C.Mixed Result

Heimpel

Feb 7, 2024D. Md.Defendant Win

Wilson

Feb 5, 2024D. Md.Plaintiff Win

Holt

Feb 1, 2024D.S.C.Defendant Win

GOLDEN

Jan 29, 2024M.D.N.C.Defendant Win

Bonner

Dec 20, 2023D. Md.Dismissed

Clark v. Sampson Regional Medical Center, Incorporated

Dec 14, 2023E.D.N.C.Mixed Result

Togba

Nov 22, 2023D. Md.Defendant Win

Lewis

Nov 3, 2023D. Md.Defendant Win

Hernandez

Oct 26, 2023D. Md.Settlement

El Mahdy v. Morgan State University

Sep 28, 2023D. Md.Defendant Win

Proctor

Sep 15, 2023D. Md.Dismissed

Rosero

Sep 11, 2023D. Md.Defendant Win

Kolbe

Sep 6, 2023D. Md.Dismissed

Kelly

Sep 5, 2023D. Md.Mixed Result

Rettig

Sep 1, 2023N.D. W. Va.Dismissed

Felipe Gonzalez v. Mogotillo Restaurant, LLC

Aug 30, 2023D. Md.Plaintiff Win

Harris

Aug 29, 2023D.S.C.Defendant Win

Williams v. University of Maryland College Park

Aug 29, 2023D. Md.Dismissed

NLRB v. Pain Relief Centers P.A.

Aug 22, 20234th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Pain Relief Centers P.A. v. NLRB

Aug 22, 20234th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Jackson v. American Electronic Warfare Associates, Inc.

Aug 10, 2023D. Md.Mixed Result

South Carolina State Ports Authority v. NLRB

Jul 28, 20234th CircuitDefendant Win

W.G./Welch Mechanical Contractors, LLC v. International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail & Transportation Workers, Local Union 100-Sheet Metal Division

Jul 28, 2023D. Md.Dismissed

Dixon

Jul 19, 2023D. Md.Dismissed

Fernandez

Jul 19, 2023D. Md.Settlement

U.S. Department of Labor v. Serenity Home Healthcare LLC

Jul 14, 2023E.D. Va.Plaintiff Win

Brinkman

Jun 1, 2023D. Md.Settlement

Wilson

Apr 27, 2023D. Md.Defendant Win

Mallory

Apr 20, 2023D.S.C.Remanded

Gaines

Apr 7, 2023D. Md.Defendant Win

Hunt

Mar 31, 2023D. Md.Remanded

Piechocki

Mar 22, 2023D. Md.Dismissed

Showing 151–200 of 829 rulings · Page 4 of 17

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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.