Skip to main content

Employment Rulings in the Ninth Circuit

The Ninth Circuit covers the federal courts in Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands. The rulings below come from the circuit's court of appeals and the federal trial courts within it.

Of the 1,784 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 1,784 published rulings we track in the Ninth Circuit.

Defendant Win
677 (38%)
Plaintiff Win
312 (17%)
Dismissed
304 (17%)
Remanded
225 (13%)
Mixed Result
135 (8%)
Settlement
131 (7%)

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 1,750 rulings we could classify by stage were decided.

Appeal
648 (37%)

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
174 (10%)

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 174 summary-judgment rulings here, 108 ended the case in the employer’s favor and 66 let the worker’s claims continue.

Motion to dismiss
676 (39%)

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

Trial verdict
43 (2%)

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

Settlement / consent decree
131 (7%)

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
65 (4%)

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

Other rulings
13 (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 Ninth Circuit covers.

Recent Rulings in the Ninth Circuit

Franey

Sep 15, 2022N.D. Cal.Plaintiff Win

Schrader

Sep 13, 2022D. Nev.Mixed Result

Secretary of Labor, United States Department of Labor v. Mesa Air Group Incorporated

Sep 12, 2022D. Ariz.Defendant Win

(PS) McGuire v. Roseville Joint Union High School District

Sep 7, 2022E.D. Cal.Dismissed

Board of Trustees of the Employee Painters' Trust v. Coast Mirror Company Inc

Aug 31, 2022W.D. Wash.Plaintiff Win

Locals 302 and 612 of the International Union of Operating Engineers Construction Industry Health and Security Fund v. 509 Excavating LLC

Aug 31, 2022W.D. Wash.Plaintiff Win

Szymborski

Aug 31, 2022D. Nev.Dismissed

AAK USA Richmond Corporation v. Warehouse Union Local 6, ILWU

Aug 31, 2022N.D. Cal.Defendant Win

King

Aug 31, 2022N.D. Cal.Mixed Result

Fitzpatrick

Aug 26, 2022S.D. Cal.Defendant Win

Cattoche

Aug 26, 2022N.D. Cal.Defendant Win

Dopp

Aug 22, 2022S.D. Cal.Remanded

Smith v. Pitney Bowes, Inc.

Aug 19, 2022D. Or.Defendant Win

Hale

Aug 18, 2022D. Nev.Dismissed

Figueroa

Aug 17, 2022D. Ariz.Plaintiff Win

Mehretu

Aug 12, 2022D. Nev.Defendant Win

Valdez

Aug 9, 2022D. Ariz.Defendant Win

Natalie Guillen v. Vie De France Yamazaki, Inc.

Aug 9, 2022C.D. Cal.Remanded

Erhart

Aug 8, 2022S.D. Cal.Mixed Result

Jose Diaz v. Solar Turbines Incorporated

Aug 8, 2022S.D. Cal.Settlement

Ridenour

Aug 5, 2022D. Nev.Dismissed

Davis

Aug 5, 2022D. Ariz.Plaintiff Win

Stewart-Alexander

Aug 1, 2022N.D. Cal.Settlement

Heikkia

Jul 26, 2022D. Ariz.Settlement

Hetland

Jul 26, 2022D. Ariz.Plaintiff Win

Barker

Jul 25, 2022D. Or.Plaintiff Win

Martinez

Jul 25, 2022N.D. Cal.Settlement

Arriwite

Jul 22, 2022D. IdahoMixed Result

Gillespie

Jul 22, 2022D. Ariz.Dismissed

Bedwell

Jul 19, 2022S.D. Cal.Dismissed

Dante Reyes v. Marshalls of CA, LLC

Jul 14, 2022C.D. Cal.Remanded

Robert Barboza v. U.S. Department of Labor

Jul 14, 20229th CircuitDefendant Win

Durland

Jul 12, 2022D. Or.Plaintiff Win

Newell

Jul 12, 2022E.D. Cal.Settlement

Verduzco

Jul 12, 2022D. Ariz.Plaintiff Win

Rockymore

Jul 11, 2022N.D. Cal.Mixed Result

J.K.

Jul 11, 2022E.D. Cal.Settlement

Drevaleva

Jul 7, 2022N.D. Cal.Defendant Win

Leemanuel Weilch v. K. B. and P. Investment Co., Inc.

Jul 7, 2022C.D. Cal.Defendant Win

Johnell Harris, Jr. v. Venture Transport, LLC

Jul 6, 2022C.D. Cal.Remanded

Michael Tipton v. Walmart Inc.

Jun 30, 2022C.D. Cal.Remanded

Board of Trustees, in their capacities as Trustees of the Laborers Health and Welfare Trust Fund For Northern California v. Geminis Demolition & Construction, Inc.

Jun 27, 2022N.D. Cal.Plaintiff Win

Gomez

Jun 24, 2022N.D. Cal.Dismissed

Bhagwandin

Jun 23, 2022N.D. Cal.Defendant Win

Johnson v. Pick 6 Tahoe LLC

Jun 23, 2022E.D. Cal.Settlement

Singletary

Jun 17, 2022S.D. Cal.Plaintiff Win

Meza

Jun 17, 2022E.D. Cal.Dismissed

Figueroa

Jun 16, 2022D. Ariz.Plaintiff Win

Hrones

Jun 10, 2022E.D. Cal.Remanded

Schultz

Jun 9, 2022D. Or.Mixed Result

Browse Other Circuits

Explore employment rulings from the other federal circuits.

Facing something similar at work?Check your rights — free, private, no sign-up

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.