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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

STEIN

Jul 26, 2024M.D.N.C.Dismissed

McKenzie

Jul 26, 2024D. Md.Dismissed

Guzman Luna v. Yummy, LLC

Jul 26, 2024D. Md.Dismissed

Carmona

Jul 25, 2024D. Md.Remanded

Ramirez Ruano v. Scratch Kitchen & Bistro, LLC

Jul 24, 2024D. Md.Settlement

Kubas

Jul 19, 2024D. Md.Mixed Result

Gillespie

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

Nicholson

Jul 16, 2024D. Md.Mixed Result

Kiver, Ph.D. v. Federal Business Council, Inc.

Jul 16, 2024D. Md.Defendant Win

De Amat v. United Natural Foods, Inc.

Jul 15, 2024D. Md.Dismissed

Sheffo

Jul 12, 2024D. Md.Dismissed

Philips

Jul 2, 2024W.D.N.C.Defendant Win

Helsel

Jul 1, 2024D. Md.Mixed Result

Halig

Jul 1, 2024D. Md.Mixed Result

Coleman

Jul 1, 2024D. Md.Mixed Result

Reeves

Jun 28, 2024D. Md.Mixed Result

Prince

Jun 28, 2024D. Md.Defendant Win

Ogden

Jun 28, 2024D. Md.Defendant Win

Strong

Jun 26, 2024W.D.N.C.Defendant Win

Maxwell

Jun 26, 2024D.S.C.Defendant Win

White

Jun 25, 2024D. Md.Defendant Win

Hernandez

Jun 25, 2024D. Md.Dismissed

Jackson v. Wal-Mart Inc

Jun 24, 2024D.S.C.Mixed Result

Sharifi

Jun 21, 2024D. Md.Remanded

Yampierre

Jun 17, 2024D. Md.Mixed Result

Convertino

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

Uzoigwe

Jun 13, 2024D. Md.Plaintiff Win

Sibrian

Jun 10, 2024D. Md.Dismissed

Willis

Jun 7, 2024D.S.C.Defendant Win

Pearce

Jun 7, 2024D. Md.Plaintiff Win

Gray

May 30, 2024W.D.N.C.Plaintiff Win

Sorto

May 30, 2024D. Md.Defendant Win

Whatley

May 29, 2024D.S.C.Defendant Win

Brown

May 28, 2024W.D. Va.Remanded

Hadarou Sare v. Christina Nikiforidou

May 24, 20244th CircuitDismissed

Oladayo Oladokun v. Warden Kelly

May 24, 20244th CircuitDefendant Win

Chavarria

May 21, 2024D. Md.Plaintiff Win

Menk

May 17, 2024D. Md.Plaintiff Win

Eric Goudy v. Navy Federal Credit Union Foundation

May 16, 20244th CircuitRemanded

Al-Din Bey v. Circle K

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

Witherspoon

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

Hollis

May 10, 2024D. Md.Remanded

Johnson v. Baltimore City, Maryland: Baltimore Police Department

May 8, 2024D. Md.Remanded

Garcia

May 3, 2024D.S.C.Dismissed

McKenzie

Apr 29, 2024D.S.C.Dismissed

Watkins

Apr 26, 2024S.D. W. Va.Remanded

Lundregan

Apr 24, 2024D. Md.Defendant Win

Key

Apr 24, 2024D. Md.Plaintiff Win

Kleanthis Andreadakis v. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Apr 23, 20244th CircuitDefendant Win

Henderson v. Tower Federal Credit Union

Apr 22, 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.