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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

Hudson

Nov 13, 2019S.D. Cal.Settlement

Mohammed

Nov 12, 2019N.D. Cal.Remanded

McCauley

Nov 12, 2019D. Ariz.Defendant Win

Zweizig

Nov 11, 2019D. Or.Plaintiff Win

Noroma

Nov 6, 2019N.D. Cal.Settlement

(PS) Awadan v. Reebok Corporate Headquarter

Nov 6, 2019E.D. Cal.Remanded

State of Nevada v. Gilbert

Nov 1, 2019D. Nev.Dismissed

Essmaker

Nov 1, 2019D. IdahoPlaintiff Win

Arakji

Nov 1, 2019N.D. Cal.Dismissed

Jo Ann Gutierrez Bejar v. SOS International LLC

Nov 1, 2019C.D. Cal.Settlement

Sanchez

Oct 30, 2019E.D. Cal.Settlement

Matthew Anderson v. Assemblers, Inc.

Oct 28, 2019C.D. Cal.Remanded

Nolan

Oct 23, 2019N.D. Cal.Remanded

Camilo

Oct 21, 2019N.D. Cal.Settlement

Varner

Oct 21, 2019D. AlaskaDefendant Win

Adams II v. CVS Pharmacy

Oct 17, 2019D. Nev.Dismissed

Collins

Oct 15, 2019D. Ariz.Defendant Win

Farfan

Oct 7, 2019N.D. Cal.Dismissed

(PS) Bobo v. Union Gospel Mission

Oct 7, 2019E.D. Cal.Dismissed

Theroux Jr. v. Lemon Grove Ultra Mart, Inc.

Oct 4, 2019S.D. Cal.Dismissed

Huntsman

Oct 4, 2019N.D. Cal.Settlement

Yvonne Munoz v. Target Corporation

Oct 3, 2019C.D. Cal.Remanded

Guadalupe Salazar v. McDonald's Corp.

Oct 1, 20199th CircuitDefendant Win

Westgate LVH, LLC v. Trustees of the Nevada Resort Association - IATSE Local 720 Pension Trust

Sep 28, 2019D. Nev.Defendant Win

Tamara Minasyan v. Western Union Financial Services, Inc.

Sep 26, 2019C.D. Cal.Remanded

Edwards

Sep 25, 2019D. Nev.Dismissed

Locals 302 and 612 of the International Union of Operating Engineers Construction Industry Health and Security Fund v. AEI Williams Group Co

Sep 24, 2019W.D. Wash.Defendant Win

Amador-Stewart

Sep 23, 2019S.D. Cal.Plaintiff Win

Mario Cortez v. Vieira Custom Chopping, Inc.

Sep 23, 2019E.D. Cal.Settlement

Chapman

Sep 23, 2019D. Ariz.Settlement

Yadir A. Ontiveros v. Safelite Fulfillment, Inc.

Sep 20, 2019C.D. Cal.Settlement

Erhart

Sep 19, 2019S.D. Cal.Plaintiff Win

Todd Johnston v. Uber Technologies, Inc.

Sep 16, 2019N.D. Cal.Defendant Win

Allen

Sep 16, 2019N.D. Cal.Dismissed

Silveria

Sep 12, 2019N.D. Cal.Defendant Win

Champion

Sep 12, 2019N.D. Cal.Defendant Win

Secretary of Labor v. Seward Ship's Drydock, Inc.

Sep 11, 20199th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Secretary of Labor v. Seward Ship's Drydock, Inc.

Sep 11, 20199th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Jose J Gonsalez v. Employment Development Department EDD

Sep 10, 2019C.D. Cal.Dismissed

Vahora

Sep 3, 2019E.D. Cal.Dismissed

Adenike Joseph v. Vitas Healthcare Corporation of California

Aug 27, 2019C.D. Cal.Remanded

Langer

Aug 26, 2019S.D. Cal.Defendant Win

Hukman

Aug 22, 2019S.D. Cal.Dismissed

Wise

Aug 21, 2019E.D. Cal.Settlement

Tolano

Aug 20, 2019D. Ariz.Plaintiff Win

Jose Valtierra v. Medtronic Inc.

Aug 20, 20199th CircuitDefendant Win

John Doe v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.

Aug 19, 2019C.D. Cal.Remanded

Kelly

Aug 15, 2019D. Or.Defendant Win

Apollo Education Group, Inc. v. National Union Fire Insurance

Aug 15, 20199th CircuitDefendant Win

Erika Nolff v. Performance Food Group, Inc.

Aug 12, 2019C.D. Cal.Remanded

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.