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 5,351 published rulings we track here (19672026), 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 5,351 published rulings we track in the Ninth Circuit.

Defendant Win
1,800 (34%)
Dismissed
1,160 (22%)
Mixed Result
911 (17%)
Plaintiff Win
723 (14%)
Remanded
518 (10%)
Settlement
239 (4%)

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 5,218 rulings we could classify by stage were decided.

Appeal
2,095 (40%)

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
639 (12%)

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 639 summary-judgment rulings here, 379 ended the case in the employer’s favor and 259 let the worker’s claims continue; the rest resolved in other ways.

Motion to dismiss
2,007 (38%)

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

Trial verdict
83 (2%)

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

Settlement / consent decree
217 (4%)

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
95 (2%)

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

Other rulings
82 (2%)

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

Raines

Aug 16, 2024S.D. Cal.Plaintiff Win

Burgos

Aug 16, 2024N.D. Cal.Dismissed

Gatlin

Aug 16, 2024N.D. Cal.Dismissed

Bowie

Aug 16, 2024N.D. Cal.Dismissed

Bendau

Aug 16, 2024N.D. Cal.Settlement

Hilley

Aug 16, 2024N.D. Cal.Mixed Result

Galvan

Aug 16, 2024N.D. Cal.Defendant Win

Roger Yanez v. Knight Transportation Incorporated

Aug 16, 2024D. Ariz.Defendant Win

Strauss

Aug 15, 2024D. Nev.Defendant Win

Thompson

Aug 15, 2024S.D. Cal.Defendant Win

UnifySCC

Aug 15, 2024N.D. Cal.Dismissed

Sam Benford v. Becky Y. Joe

Aug 14, 2024C.D. Cal.Dismissed

Larry Dunn v. Elliott Soultanian

Aug 14, 2024C.D. Cal.Defendant Win

Sam Benford v. Anthony Ricci

Aug 14, 2024C.D. Cal.Mixed Result

Jesus Garcia v. Reclaimed Wood Source, LLC

Aug 14, 2024C.D. Cal.Dismissed

Hookom

Aug 14, 2024D. Ariz.Mixed Result

Greater Oceans, Inc. v. Eric Thorstenson

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

Kish

Aug 13, 2024E.D. Cal.Dismissed

Escobedo

Aug 13, 2024E.D. Cal.Mixed Result

Sam Benford v. Ignacio A. Arrincon

Aug 13, 2024C.D. Cal.Plaintiff Win

Robert Mena v. Laguna Self Storage, LLC

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

Maria Garcia v. Steven Drust

Aug 13, 2024C.D. Cal.Dismissed

Perez-Cruet

Aug 12, 2024S.D. Cal.Defendant Win

Rodriguez

Aug 12, 2024N.D. Cal.Mixed Result

Russo

Aug 9, 2024N.D. Cal.Dismissed

Michael Harris v. Action Fabrics and Upholstery Supplies, Inc.

Aug 9, 2024C.D. Cal.Mixed Result

Kenneth Davidson v. Cannatrust Group Limited Liability Company

Aug 9, 2024C.D. Cal.Mixed Result

Mister Bailey v. Leopoldo Tepozan

Aug 9, 2024C.D. Cal.Defendant Win

Pietracatello

Aug 8, 2024D. Or.Dismissed

PAMCAH-UA Local 675 Pension Fund v. Gordon Mechanical LLC, a Hawaii limited liability company

Aug 7, 2024D. Haw.Dismissed

Regional Local Union Nos. 846 and 847, International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers, AFL-CIO v. LSRI, LLC

Aug 7, 2024D. Or.Dismissed

Parrish

Aug 7, 2024D. Or.Defendant Win

Johnson v. City of Buhl

Aug 7, 2024D. IdahoMixed Result

Boyd

Aug 7, 2024N.D. Cal.Defendant Win

Ball

Aug 7, 2024E.D. Cal.Remanded

Cameron Harrell v. Kenneth Ernest Beaujean

Aug 7, 2024C.D. Cal.Defendant Win

Ladera Taxpayers for Integrity in Governance v. Las Lomitas Elementary School District

Aug 6, 2024N.D. Cal.Defendant Win

Bonazza

Aug 5, 2024N.D. Cal.Dismissed

Mattingly

Aug 5, 2024N.D. Cal.Dismissed

Guri Gonzalez v. Carlos Arana

Aug 5, 2024C.D. Cal.Plaintiff Win

Dutrisac

Aug 2, 2024N.D. Cal.Dismissed

Berman

Aug 1, 2024D. Or.Dismissed

Gonzales v. Battelle Energy Alliance, LLC

Aug 1, 2024D. IdahoDefendant Win

Ramachandran

Aug 1, 2024N.D. Cal.Defendant Win

Page

Jul 31, 2024D. Or.Defendant Win

Bolos

Jul 31, 2024D. Haw.Mixed Result

Moreing

Jul 25, 2024D. Or.Mixed Result

Mattson Technology, Inc. v. Applied Materials, Inc.

Jul 25, 2024N.D. Cal.Dismissed

Tomlinson

Jul 24, 2024D. Or.Mixed Result

Garrick

Jul 24, 2024N.D. Cal.Dismissed

Showing 1,2511,300 of 5,351 rulings · Page 26 of 108

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.