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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 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

Ortiz

Apr 27, 2020N.D. Cal.Defendant Win

Burwell

Apr 24, 2020D. Nev.Dismissed

Wang

Apr 23, 2020D. Nev.Defendant Win

Nakakura

Apr 23, 2020D. Haw.Defendant Win

Stiner

Apr 23, 2020D. Haw.Defendant Win

Lorenzo Rivera v. Marriott International, Inc.

Apr 23, 2020C.D. Cal.Dismissed

Jeremy Holland v. 3 Jays Liquor, Inc.

Apr 23, 2020C.D. Cal.Mixed Result

Bell v. Employment Security Division, State of Nevada

Apr 22, 2020D. Nev.Dismissed

Freedom Foundation v. Department of Labor & Industries

Apr 20, 2020W.D. Wash.Defendant Win

Gomez

Apr 20, 2020E.D. Cal.Mixed Result

Mar

Apr 20, 2020E.D. Cal.Mixed Result

Perez

Apr 17, 2020E.D. Cal.Defendant Win

Gonzalez

Apr 16, 2020N.D. Cal.Defendant Win

Kristine Adams v. Newport Crest Homeowners Ass'n

Apr 15, 20209th CircuitMixed Result

Rogelio Silva-Estrada v. William Barr

Apr 15, 20209th CircuitDefendant Win

Yolver Estrada-Mendoza v. William Barr

Apr 15, 20209th CircuitDefendant Win

United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing & Pipe Fitting Industry of the United States and Canada, Local 525 Las Vegas, Nevada AFL-CIO v. Bombard Mechanical, LLC

Apr 14, 2020D. Nev.Mixed Result

Dimry

Apr 14, 2020N.D. Cal.Mixed Result

John Herzfeld v. Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc.

Apr 14, 2020C.D. Cal.Dismissed

French

Apr 13, 2020S.D. Cal.Settlement

Rutherford

Apr 13, 2020S.D. Cal.Dismissed

James Rutherford v. PS Business Parks, L.P.

Apr 13, 2020C.D. Cal.Remanded

Russell Rosco v. Trans Union LLC

Apr 13, 20209th CircuitDefendant Win

McHenry

Apr 10, 2020D. Nev.Mixed Result

DeCosta

Apr 10, 2020D. Haw.Defendant Win

Martin

Apr 10, 2020E.D. Cal.Dismissed

Larios

Apr 10, 2020E.D. Cal.Defendant Win

Beard

Apr 9, 2020N.D. Cal.Mixed Result

Greg Gibbons v. Union Pacific Railroad Company

Apr 9, 20209th CircuitMixed Result

Wynnycky

Apr 8, 2020D. Nev.Dismissed

(PS) Chavez v. Del Sol Farm Labor Services Inc.

Apr 8, 2020E.D. Cal.Dismissed

Fulkerson

Apr 7, 2020D. Nev.Dismissed

Newell

Apr 7, 2020D. Ariz.Remanded

Trustees of the U.A. Union Local No. 290 Plumber, Steamfitter and Shipfitter Industry Pension Trust v. Puddletown Plumbing LLC

Apr 6, 2020D. Or.Dismissed

Waveseer of Nevada, LLC v. United Food and Commercial Workers, Local 711

Apr 6, 2020D. Nev.Defendant Win

Raudez

Apr 6, 2020N.D. Cal.Settlement

Bowman

Apr 6, 2020E.D. Cal.Dismissed

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Norval Electric Cooperative, Inc.

Apr 2, 2020D. Mont.Mixed Result

Erhart

Apr 2, 2020S.D. Cal.Dismissed

(PS) J & J Sports Productions, Inc. v. Estrada Alvarez

Apr 2, 2020E.D. Cal.Plaintiff Win

Barajas-Quijada

Apr 2, 2020E.D. Cal.Plaintiff Win

Board of Trustees of the Painters and Floorcoverers Joint Committee v. FF&E Refinishing NV, LLC

Apr 1, 2020D. Nev.Plaintiff Win

Camilo

Apr 1, 2020N.D. Cal.Settlement

Sobaszkiewicz

Apr 1, 2020N.D. Cal.Dismissed

United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union, AFL-CIO, CLC v. Vista Metals Corporation

Apr 1, 2020C.D. Cal.Dismissed

Chambers

Mar 31, 2020D. Or.Defendant Win

Perez

Mar 31, 2020N.D. Cal.Mixed Result

Capriole

Mar 31, 2020N.D. Cal.Dismissed

Perez

Mar 31, 2020N.D. Cal.Mixed Result

Eric P. v. Directors Guild of America

Mar 30, 2020N.D. Cal.Defendant Win

Showing 3,4013,450 of 5,351 rulings · Page 69 of 108

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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.