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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

Glanville

Dec 31, 2024D. Md.Dismissed

Gagnon

Dec 23, 2024D. Md.Plaintiff Win

Crawford

Dec 23, 2024D. Md.Defendant Win

N.C.

Dec 23, 2024D. Md.Mixed Result

Wall

Dec 23, 2024D.S.C.Dismissed

Pisner

Dec 19, 2024D. Md.Remanded

Waller

Dec 18, 2024D. Md.Defendant Win

Ghant

Dec 18, 2024D.S.C.Defendant Win

Hughes

Dec 18, 2024D. Md.Dismissed

Adams

Dec 13, 2024E.D.N.C.Mixed Result

Paul

Dec 12, 2024E.D.N.C.Dismissed

Smock

Dec 11, 2024D. Md.Dismissed

Hadassah Feinberg v. Ferdinand Cintron, Jr.

Dec 9, 20244th CircuitDismissed

Simpson

Dec 3, 2024W.D.N.C.Mixed Result

Ayoola

Dec 2, 2024W.D.N.C.Dismissed

Huntley-El

Dec 2, 2024D. Md.Plaintiff Win

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Thomas B. Finan Center

Nov 27, 2024D. Md.Settlement

Adaeze Nwosu v. Gritz, Hanifin & Shih, LLC

Nov 21, 20244th CircuitDismissed

Adaeze Nwosu v. Karla Smith

Nov 21, 20244th CircuitDefendant Win

Ayoola

Nov 15, 2024W.D.N.C.Dismissed

Abercrombie

Nov 15, 2024W.D.N.C.Plaintiff Win

Fincher

Nov 14, 2024W.D.N.C.Mixed Result

Alvarez

Nov 14, 2024D.S.C.Defendant Win

Blair

Nov 14, 2024D.S.C.Remanded

Laber

Nov 14, 2024E.D. Va.Dismissed

Calzada

Nov 13, 2024W.D.N.C.Dismissed

Walmsley

Nov 12, 2024D.S.C.Mixed Result

Aguirre-Amaya

Nov 8, 2024D. Md.Dismissed

Camara

Oct 31, 2024D. Md.Dismissed

Thompson

Oct 30, 2024D. Md.Defendant Win

Abraham

Oct 28, 2024D. Md.Dismissed

McRee

Oct 21, 2024W.D.N.C.Defendant Win

Aalaam

Oct 21, 2024W.D.N.C.Defendant Win

Richards

Oct 17, 2024W.D. Va.Dismissed

Trustees of The National Automatic Sprinkler Industry Welfare Fund v. All Safe Fire Sprinkler Systems, Inc.

Oct 15, 2024D. Md.Defendant Win

Wadford

Oct 11, 2024D.S.C.Mixed Result

Morris

Oct 11, 2024D. Md.Mixed Result

Mani

Oct 9, 2024D. Md.Mixed Result

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Sheetz, Inc.

Oct 4, 2024D. Md.Mixed Result

Nicholson

Oct 4, 2024D. Md.Defendant Win

Jackson v. Central Midlands Regional Transit Authority

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

Miller v. Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools

Sep 30, 2024W.D.N.C.Settlement

Wendelberger

Sep 30, 2024W.D.N.C.Remanded

S.M.

Sep 30, 2024D. Md.Defendant Win

Aguilar

Sep 30, 2024D. Md.Dismissed

Bobb

Sep 30, 2024D. Md.Mixed Result

Palmer v. State of Maryland

Sep 30, 2024D. Md.Dismissed

Effland

Sep 30, 2024D. Md.Defendant Win

Holmes

Sep 25, 2024D.S.C.Plaintiff Win

Jones

Sep 25, 2024D.S.C.Defendant Win

Browse Other 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.