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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

Trustees of the National Electrical Benefit Fund v. JCA Electric, LLC

Sep 25, 2024D. Md.Defendant Win

Lewis

Sep 23, 2024D.S.C.Defendant Win

BEATTY

Sep 23, 2024M.D.N.C.Mixed Result

BRISSON

Sep 23, 2024M.D.N.C.Dismissed

Portis

Sep 23, 2024E.D.N.C.Plaintiff Win

Ghumman

Sep 23, 2024D. Md.Dismissed

Loveless

Sep 20, 2024D.S.C.Defendant Win

Tran

Sep 19, 2024D. Md.Mixed Result

Booker

Sep 18, 2024D.S.C.Dismissed

Sewell

Sep 18, 2024D. Md.Dismissed

Foldi

Sep 17, 2024D. Md.Defendant Win

Swett

Sep 13, 2024D.S.C.Defendant Win

Philips

Sep 12, 2024E.D.N.C.Defendant Win

Wheeler.

Sep 11, 2024D. Md.Dismissed

Spinks

Sep 9, 2024D. Md.Dismissed

Watson

Sep 6, 2024D. Md.Defendant Win

Bomar

Sep 6, 2024D. Md.Plaintiff Win

McLamb

Sep 6, 2024D. Md.Dismissed

Bush

Sep 5, 2024D.S.C.Remanded

Faulkenberry

Sep 5, 2024D. Md.Mixed Result

Krysztofiak

Sep 5, 2024D. Md.Defendant Win

Reed

Sep 5, 2024D. Md.Dismissed

Bloom

Sep 5, 2024D. Md.Dismissed

Terran Biosciences, Inc. v. Compass Pathfinder Limited

Sep 4, 2024D. Md.Defendant Win

Quarles

Aug 30, 2024D. Md.Defendant Win

Davis

Aug 26, 2024D.S.C.Dismissed

Teamsters Local 355 v. Total Distribution Services, Inc.

Aug 26, 2024D. Md.Mixed Result

Sanders

Aug 26, 2024D. Md.Defendant Win

DiStefano, Incorporated v. Tasty Baking Company

Aug 26, 2024D. Md.Defendant Win

Rose

Aug 23, 2024D. Md.Dismissed

Trustees of the Bakery and Confectionery Union and Industry International Pension Fund v. A. Angonoa, Inc.

Aug 23, 2024D. Md.Defendant Win

Tripp

Aug 22, 2024D. Md.Defendant Win

Guillen

Aug 20, 2024D. Md.Dismissed

De Patricio v. Towson University

Aug 19, 2024D. Md.Dismissed

Horowitz

Aug 16, 2024D.S.C.Defendant Win

McDowell

Aug 16, 2024D.S.C.Dismissed

Sama

Aug 16, 2024D. Md.Dismissed

WELLS

Aug 15, 2024M.D.N.C.Remanded

Flournoy

Aug 13, 2024D.S.C.Mixed Result

Weisman

Aug 12, 2024D. Md.Dismissed

Li

Aug 9, 2024D. Md.Remanded

Goodwin

Aug 8, 2024D.S.C.Mixed Result

Brunson

Aug 6, 2024D.S.C.Defendant Win

Green

Aug 6, 2024D.S.C.Defendant Win

Pfeffer

Aug 5, 2024W.D.N.C.Mixed Result

Warren

Aug 2, 2024E.D.N.C.Dismissed

Tillery

Jul 31, 2024D. Md.Defendant Win

Bobb

Jul 31, 2024D. Md.Defendant Win

Ash

Jul 31, 2024D. Md.Defendant Win

Liberto Dodson v. Lutheran Village at Miller's Grant

Jul 30, 2024D. Md.Dismissed

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.