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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

Demma

Dec 11, 2023N.D. Cal.Mixed Result

Lorenzo Dominguez v. Better Mortgage Corporation

Dec 7, 20239th CircuitMixed Result

Edward Asner v. The Sag-Aftra Health Fund

Dec 7, 2023C.D. Cal.Settlement

Eula Elazouzi v. Aetna Life Insurance Company

Dec 7, 2023C.D. Cal.Defendant Win

Gower

Dec 6, 2023D. Ariz.Defendant Win

Mort

Nov 30, 2023E.D. Cal.Defendant Win

Bell v. Redfin Corporation

Nov 28, 2023S.D. Cal.Settlement

Anigbogu

Nov 22, 2023N.D. Cal.Plaintiff Win

Poppen

Nov 21, 2023D. Or.Defendant Win

Dickens

Nov 21, 2023N.D. Cal.Dismissed

Martinelli

Nov 20, 2023D. Nev.Mixed Result

Rex Alan Dinesen v. U.S. Tool Grinding, Inc.

Nov 9, 2023C.D. Cal.Remanded

Krautstrunk

Nov 6, 2023D. Ariz.Defendant Win

Bernstein

Nov 3, 2023N.D. Cal.Plaintiff Win

Tatiana Hill v. Airgas USA, LLC

Nov 3, 2023C.D. Cal.Remanded

Price

Nov 1, 2023N.D. Cal.Defendant Win

(PS) Anenson v. Vacaville Unified School District

Oct 31, 2023E.D. Cal.Dismissed

Maria Martin v. FedEx Ground Package System, Inc.

Oct 31, 2023C.D. Cal.Remanded

Lynch v. Ulta Salon, Inc.

Oct 25, 2023E.D. Cal.Defendant Win

Phoen

Oct 20, 2023N.D. Cal.Settlement

Apple Inc. v. Rivos, Inc.

Oct 18, 2023N.D. Cal.Plaintiff Win

Kava Holdings, LLC v. NLRB

Oct 18, 20239th CircuitDefendant Win

Sanft

Oct 16, 2023N.D. Cal.Settlement

Christopher Frankovich v. Home Depot U.S.A., Inc.

Oct 11, 2023C.D. Cal.Remanded

Munger

Oct 5, 2023D. Or.Plaintiff Win

Foreman

Oct 3, 2023N.D. Cal.Settlement

Shruhan

Sep 29, 2023N.D. Cal.Dismissed

Erhart

Sep 28, 2023S.D. Cal.Plaintiff Win

Erhart

Sep 28, 2023S.D. Cal.Plaintiff Win

Melendrez

Sep 25, 2023S.D. Cal.Mixed Result

Erblich

Sep 22, 2023N.D. Cal.Mixed Result

Chalmers

Sep 22, 2023N.D. Cal.Defendant Win

Diana Price v. Home Deport U.S.A., Inc.

Sep 20, 2023C.D. Cal.Remanded

Dutton

Sep 13, 2023D. IdahoDefendant Win

Blackstock-Peter

Sep 12, 2023N.D. Cal.Dismissed

Lawson

Sep 11, 2023N.D. Cal.Plaintiff Win

Erickson

Aug 22, 2023D. Or.Mixed Result

Gessele

Aug 8, 2023D. Or.Defendant Win

Bowlay-Williams

Aug 8, 2023N.D. Cal.Settlement

McFarland

Aug 7, 2023N.D. Cal.Dismissed

Netzel

Aug 3, 2023D. Ariz.Defendant Win

Mezzano

Jul 31, 2023D. Nev.Dismissed

Cuttino Jr. v. Walmart Western Union

Jul 31, 2023S.D. Cal.Dismissed

Youhanna Sawaged v. Child Protection DCF Service Los Angeles

Jul 28, 2023C.D. Cal.Dismissed

Andreaccio

Jul 25, 2023D. Nev.Dismissed

Napear

Jul 25, 2023E.D. Cal.Mixed Result

Kabasele

Jul 25, 2023E.D. Cal.Settlement

Chen

Jul 17, 2023D. Nev.Dismissed

Beryl

Jul 13, 2023N.D. Cal.Plaintiff Win

Jimenez

Jul 11, 2023D. Ariz.Plaintiff Win

Browse Other 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.