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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

National Union of Healthcare Workers v. Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc.

Jan 31, 2014N.D. Cal.Mixed Result

Gunawan

Jan 30, 2014C.D. Cal.Defendant Win

Smithkline Beecham Corporation v. Abbott Laboratories

Jan 21, 20149th CircuitRemanded

Nykeya Kilby v. Cvs Pharmacy, Inc.

Dec 31, 20139th CircuitRemanded

Wal-Mart Wage & Hour Employment Practices Litigation v. Class Counsel

Dec 17, 20139th CircuitDefendant Win

U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission v. Adair

Dec 13, 20139th CircuitDismissed

Lopez v. Regents of University

Dec 10, 2013N.D. Cal.Dismissed

Michelle Richards v. Ernst & Young, LLP

Dec 9, 20139th CircuitDefendant Win

Tae-Si Kim v. Adam Kearney

Nov 26, 20139th CircuitDefendant Win

Danny Snapp v. United Transportation Union

Nov 5, 20139th CircuitRemanded

Asghari

Nov 4, 2013C.D. Cal.Mixed Result

Rodelmiro Estrada-Castillo v. Eric Holder, Jr.

Oct 25, 20139th CircuitDefendant Win

In re High-Tech Employee Antitrust Litigation

Oct 24, 2013N.D. Cal.Plaintiff Win

Masha Maxim v. Dental Care Corp

Oct 18, 20139th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Standard Drywall, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board

Oct 7, 20139th CircuitDefendant Win

Operative Plasterers' & Cement Masons' International Ass'n v. National Labor Relations Board

Oct 7, 20139th CircuitDefendant Win

Opcmia

Oct 7, 20139th CircuitDefendant Win

Louis James v. Nevada County

Oct 4, 20139th CircuitDefendant Win

Hooks ex rel. National Labor Relations Board v. International Longshore & Warehouse Union

Sep 30, 20139th CircuitMixed Result

Terminalift LLC v. International Longshore & Warehouse Union Local 29

Sep 30, 2013S.D. Cal.Mixed Result

Gonzalo Estrada-Rios v. Eric Holder, Jr.

Sep 30, 20139th CircuitDismissed

Tapley v. Locals 302 & 612 of the International Union of Operating Engineers-Employers Construction Industry Retirement Plan

Sep 6, 20139th CircuitRemanded

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Abercrombie & Fitch Stores, Inc.

Sep 3, 2013N.D. Cal.Plaintiff Win

Ricardo Quezada-Gonzalez v. Eric Holder, Jr.

Aug 23, 20139th CircuitDefendant Win

John M. Floyd & Associates, Inc. v. TAPCO Credit Union

Aug 21, 20139th CircuitDefendant Win

Martinez v. Beverly Hills Hotel & Bungalows Employee Benefit Trust Employee Welfare Plan

Aug 19, 20139th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Hall v. Ibew Plus Credit Union, Inc.

Aug 15, 20139th CircuitDefendant Win

Fix

Aug 6, 2013D. Ariz.Mixed Result

City of Roseville Employees' Retirement System v. Sterling Financial Corp.

Aug 5, 2013E.D. Wash.Settlement

Alaska Laborers Health & Security, Retirement, Training & Legal Services Trust Funds v. Alaska Trailblazing, Inc.

Jul 24, 20139th CircuitDefendant Win

American President Lines, Ltd. v. International Longshore & Warehouse Union

Jul 12, 20139th CircuitMixed Result

Ahearn v. International Longshore & Warehouse Union, Locals 21 & 4

Jul 5, 20139th CircuitMixed Result

Jonathan Rivkin v. the Union Central Life Insurance

Jun 18, 20139th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Fred Meyer Stores, Inc.

Jun 17, 2013D. Or.Mixed Result

Maria Martinez De Ahumada v. Eric H. Holder Jr.

Jun 14, 20139th CircuitDefendant Win

Rhonda Fred v. Washoe Tribe of Nevada and Cal

May 31, 20139th CircuitDismissed

Alvaro Quezada v. A. Herrera

May 22, 20139th CircuitDefendant Win

Seiu

May 22, 20139th CircuitDefendant Win

Services Employees Internation v. Sal Rosselli

May 22, 20139th CircuitPlaintiff Win

David Cooper v. Clark County, Nevada

May 21, 20139th CircuitRemanded

National Labor Relations Board v. a & C Healthcare Services, Inc.

May 15, 20139th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Ticketmaster, Llc v. Illinois Union Insurance Compa

Apr 26, 20139th CircuitRemanded

Department of Fair Employment & Housing v. Law School Admission Council, Inc.

Apr 22, 2013N.D. Cal.Settlement

Salvador Renteria v. Derral Adams

Apr 18, 20139th CircuitDefendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Global Horizons, Inc.

Apr 12, 2013E.D. Wash.Defendant Win

In re High-Tech Employee Antitrust Litigation

Apr 5, 2013N.D. Cal.Mixed Result

Westendorf v. West Coast Contractors of Nevada, Inc.

Apr 1, 20139th CircuitMixed Result

Services Employees International Union v. National Union of Healthcare Workers

Mar 26, 20139th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Services Employees International Union v. National Union of Healthcare Workers

Mar 26, 20139th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Lau

Mar 21, 2013GUDDefendant Win

Showing 4,1514,200 of 5,351 rulings · Page 84 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.