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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

EEOC v. Hosanna-Taylor Evangelical Lut

Mar 9, 20106th CircuitRemanded

Ohic Insurance v. Employers Reinsurance Corp.

Mar 8, 2010S.D. OhioMixed Result

Atifah

Mar 3, 2010E.D. Mich.Defendant Win

Marshall

Feb 26, 2010W.D. Tenn.Defendant Win

Chattman

Feb 22, 2010E.D. Tenn.Defendant Win

Messick

Jan 29, 2010E.D. Tenn.Defendant Win

American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky v. Grayson County

Jan 14, 20106th CircuitDefendant Win

Senzarin v. Abbott Severance Pay Plan for Employees of Kos Pharmaceuticals

Jan 11, 20106th CircuitDefendant Win

Lansing Community College v. National Union Fire Insurance

Jan 5, 2010W.D. Mich.Defendant Win

NATIONAL SIGN AND SIGNAL v. Livingston

Dec 28, 2009W.D. Mich.Defendant Win

Michigan American Federation of State County & Municipal Employees Council 25, Local 1640 v. Matrix Human Services

Dec 23, 20096th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Kimble v. WASYLYSHYN

Dec 23, 2009N.D. OhioDefendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Memphis Goodwill Industries Inc.

Dec 22, 2009W.D. Tenn.Mixed Result

Stuart v. Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County

Dec 21, 2009M.D. Tenn.Plaintiff Win

Laborers' Pension Trust Fund-Detroit & Vicinity v. Rocwall Co.

Dec 16, 20096th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Anderson

Dec 10, 2009W.D. Ky.Mixed Result

Rottler v. Michigan Automotive Compressor, Inc.

Dec 8, 2009E.D. Mich.Remanded

Pacheco v. Boar's Head Provisions Co., Inc.

Dec 3, 2009W.D. Mich.Dismissed

Chancellor v. COCA-COLA ENTERPRISES, INC.

Dec 3, 2009S.D. OhioDefendant Win

Frisby

Nov 17, 2009N.D. OhioMixed Result

Maldanado v. THE PICTSWEET CO.

Nov 17, 2009W.D. Tenn.Plaintiff Win

Johnson v. Koch Foods, Inc.

Nov 13, 2009E.D. Tenn.Mixed Result

Town & Country Plumbing & Heating, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board

Nov 9, 20096th CircuitDefendant Win

National Labor Relations Board v. Mays Printing Co.

Nov 2, 20096th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Carreno v. DOJI, INC.

Oct 29, 2009M.D. Tenn.Defendant Win

Wuerth

Oct 28, 20096th CircuitDefendant Win

Indiana State District Council of Laborers v. Omnicare, Inc.

Oct 21, 20096th CircuitDefendant Win

Omnicare

Oct 21, 20096th CircuitMixed Result

In Re Honda of America Mfg., Inc. Erisa Fees Lit.

Oct 9, 2009S.D. OhioDefendant Win

Alticor, Inc. v. National Union Fire Insurance

Oct 7, 20096th CircuitMixed Result

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. FPM Group, Ltd.

Sep 28, 2009E.D. Tenn.Dismissed

Boards of Trustees of Ohio Laborers' Fringe Benefit Programs v. West End Land Development, Inc.

Sep 24, 2009S.D. OhioDefendant Win

Wolverine World Wide, Inc. v. Wolverine Canada, Inc.

Aug 21, 2009W.D. Mich.Mixed Result

Hickey

Aug 12, 2009S.D. OhioDismissed

Multi-Flow Dispensers of Toledo, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board

Aug 4, 20096th CircuitDefendant Win

Brotherhood

Jul 31, 2009N.D. OhioDismissed

Dematic Corp. v. International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace & Agricultural Implement Workers of America

Jul 16, 2009W.D. Mich.Defendant Win

Sheldon Gordon v. David Dadante

Jul 14, 20096th CircuitSettlement

Cnh

Jul 10, 2009E.D. Mich.Defendant Win

Lombard v. UAW International Union, Local 174

Jul 6, 20096th CircuitDefendant Win

Hance v. Norfolk Southern Railway Co.

Jul 1, 20096th CircuitMixed Result

Hance v. Norfolk Southern Railway Co

Jul 1, 20096th CircuitMixed Result

Reed

Jun 23, 20096th CircuitDefendant Win

Jeffrey Reed v. International Union

Jun 23, 20096th CircuitDefendant Win

R.H. Cochran & Associates, Inc. v. Sheet Metal Workers International Ass'n Local Union No. 33

Jun 18, 20096th CircuitDefendant Win

Balzer

Jun 8, 2009W.D. Mich.Remanded

Ellsworth

Jun 5, 2009M.D. Tenn.Defendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway Co.

Jun 4, 2009W.D. Tenn.Defendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway Co.

Jun 3, 2009W.D. Tenn.Mixed Result

Adams

May 29, 2009N.D. OhioDefendant 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.