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Employment Rulings in the Sixth Circuit

The Sixth Circuit covers the federal courts in Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee. The rulings below come from the circuit's court of appeals and the federal trial courts within it.

Of the 2,531 published rulings we track here (19492026), 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 2,531 published rulings we track in the Sixth Circuit.

Defendant Win
1,124 (44%)
Plaintiff Win
460 (18%)
Mixed Result
385 (15%)
Dismissed
348 (14%)
Remanded
164 (6%)
Settlement
50 (2%)

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 2,489 rulings we could classify by stage were decided.

Appeal
1,205 (48%)

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
484 (19%)

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 484 summary-judgment rulings here, 285 ended the case in the employer’s favor and 199 let the worker’s claims continue.

Motion to dismiss
658 (26%)

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

Trial verdict
40 (2%)

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

Settlement / consent decree
46 (2%)

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
26 (1%)

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

Other rulings
30 (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 Sixth Circuit covers.

Recent Rulings in the Sixth Circuit

Wilburn

Jul 18, 2024E.D. Mich.Dismissed

Doe

Jul 18, 2024W.D. Ky.Dismissed

Bristow

Jul 17, 2024E.D. Ky.Defendant Win

Vance

Jul 16, 2024N.D. OhioDismissed

Chapman

Jul 15, 2024S.D. OhioDefendant Win

Dhaker

Jul 15, 2024N.D. OhioMixed Result

Coopwood

Jul 13, 2024E.D. Mich.Defendant Win

Heimbach

Jul 10, 2024W.D. Ky.Mixed Result

Green

Jul 9, 2024S.D. OhioDefendant Win

Vaillancourt

Jul 9, 2024N.D. OhioRemanded

Wise

Jul 9, 2024N.D. OhioDefendant Win

Stansberry

Jul 3, 2024S.D. OhioDismissed

Bartlett

Jul 2, 2024S.D. OhioDismissed

Polen

Jul 2, 2024S.D. OhioMixed Result

Hamilton

Jun 28, 2024E.D. Mich.Defendant Win

Hendershot

Jun 28, 2024W.D. Ky.Dismissed

Boards of Trustees of the Ohio Laborers Benefits v. Folmar & Son, LLC

Jun 26, 2024S.D. OhioRemanded

Scott

Jun 26, 2024N.D. OhioMixed Result

Chambers

Jun 26, 2024N.D. OhioMixed Result

Lehman

Jun 25, 2024E.D. Mich.Defendant Win

Williamson

Jun 24, 2024N.D. OhioDefendant Win

Kovacs

Jun 20, 2024N.D. OhioDefendant Win

Pritchard

Jun 14, 2024N.D. OhioDefendant Win

Roberts

Jun 13, 2024E.D. Ky.Plaintiff Win

Sheard

Jun 7, 2024W.D. Ky.Defendant Win

Deneweth

May 28, 2024E.D. Mich.Plaintiff Win

Kaufman

May 24, 2024N.D. OhioDefendant Win

White

May 23, 2024E.D. Mich.Defendant Win

Kerim

May 23, 2024E.D. Mich.Mixed Result

Bowersox

May 22, 2024N.D. OhioDismissed

Garcia

May 21, 2024W.D. Tenn.Defendant Win

Roberts

May 21, 2024N.D. OhioMixed Result

Kaanta

May 20, 2024E.D. Mich.Dismissed

Chaves

May 17, 2024E.D. Tenn.Dismissed

Bannum Place of Saginaw, LLC v. NLRB

May 17, 20246th CircuitPlaintiff Win

ChampionX LLC v. Resonance Systems Inc. (TV1)

May 16, 2024E.D. Tenn.Plaintiff Win

Buford

May 16, 2024N.D. OhioMixed Result

Moore

May 15, 2024N.D. OhioPlaintiff Win

Piddock

May 15, 2024E.D. Mich.Settlement

Edmonson

May 14, 2024M.D. Tenn.Defendant Win

Mooneyham

May 13, 2024E.D. Tenn.Defendant Win

Craghead

May 10, 2024S.D. OhioPlaintiff Win

Stevens

May 8, 2024W.D. Mich.Plaintiff Win

Patterson

May 7, 2024N.D. OhioMixed Result

Meddaugh

May 6, 2024W.D. Mich.Dismissed

Clark v. Louisville Jefferson County Metro Government

May 3, 2024W.D. Ky.Dismissed

Clark v. Louisville Jefferson County Metro Government

May 3, 2024W.D. Ky.Remanded

McCracken

May 1, 2024N.D. OhioDefendant Win

VanHooser

Apr 24, 2024E.D. Tenn.Defendant Win

Heppard

Apr 24, 2024E.D. Mich.Defendant Win

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.