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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 1,113 published rulings we track here (1971–2026), 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 1,113 published rulings we track in the Sixth Circuit.

Defendant Win
547 (49%)
Plaintiff Win
246 (22%)
Mixed Result
112 (10%)
Dismissed
111 (10%)
Settlement
50 (4%)
Remanded
47 (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 1,109 rulings we could classify by stage were decided.

Appeal
421 (38%)

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
290 (26%)

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 290 summary-judgment rulings here, 209 ended the case in the employer’s favor and 81 let the worker’s claims continue.

Motion to dismiss
275 (25%)

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

Trial verdict
27 (2%)

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

Settlement / consent decree
52 (5%)

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
38 (3%)

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

Other rulings
6 (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

Denoewer

Oct 14, 2021S.D. OhioPlaintiff Win

Smith v. ADEBCO, Inc.

Oct 12, 2021M.D. Tenn.Defendant Win

Boards of Trustees of the Ohio Laborers Benefits v. Williams Flagger Logistics, LLC

Oct 1, 2021S.D. OhioPlaintiff Win

Purvis

Sep 29, 2021M.D. Tenn.Dismissed

Hoffman

Sep 22, 2021S.D. OhioPlaintiff Win

Davis

Sep 14, 2021E.D. Ky.Settlement

Ruede

Sep 10, 2021E.D. Mich.Defendant Win

Kuchar

Sep 8, 2021N.D. OhioMixed Result

Cassaday

Sep 2, 2021W.D. Mich.Dismissed

Helgemo

Aug 20, 2021W.D. Mich.Defendant Win

Laura Canaday v. The Anthem Companies, Inc.

Aug 17, 20216th CircuitDefendant Win

Francis

Aug 16, 2021S.D. OhioSettlement

Little

Aug 13, 2021N.D. OhioPlaintiff Win

Oglesby

Aug 11, 2021S.D. OhioRemanded

Gordon

Aug 9, 2021W.D. Tenn.Plaintiff Win

Plank

Jul 22, 2021S.D. OhioMixed Result

Render

Jul 20, 2021E.D. Mich.Defendant Win

Gilinsky

Jul 9, 2021M.D. Tenn.Defendant Win

Adamo Demolition Co. v. Int'l Union of Operating Eng'rs

Jul 2, 20216th CircuitDefendant Win

Oblisk

Jun 28, 2021W.D. Ky.Defendant Win

Jones

May 25, 2021E.D. Mich.Plaintiff Win

Loos

May 21, 2021E.D. Mich.Dismissed

Roberts

May 20, 2021W.D. Mich.Remanded

Buckles

May 17, 2021S.D. OhioSettlement

Cockrell

May 10, 2021S.D. OhioPlaintiff Win

Nagarajan

Apr 30, 2021M.D. Tenn.Dismissed

Walker

Apr 22, 2021E.D. Mich.Mixed Result

Russell

Apr 13, 2021E.D. Mich.Defendant Win

Southall

Apr 9, 2021M.D. Tenn.Defendant Win

Hawley

Apr 6, 2021S.D. OhioMixed Result

Fulkerson

Mar 31, 2021N.D. OhioPlaintiff Win

Quillen Smith v. U.S. Bank National Association

Mar 30, 2021S.D. OhioDefendant Win

Crowley

Mar 30, 2021W.D. Mich.Dismissed

Boshaw

Mar 30, 2021E.D. Mich.Defendant Win

Davis

Mar 30, 2021E.D. Ky.Settlement

Slight

Mar 29, 2021N.D. OhioDefendant Win

Martinez

Mar 25, 2021M.D. Tenn.Dismissed

Wilson

Mar 25, 2021M.D. Tenn.Dismissed

Hines

Mar 25, 2021E.D. Mich.Defendant Win

Withers

Mar 19, 2021W.D. Ky.Plaintiff Win

McPherson

Mar 16, 2021W.D. Tenn.Defendant Win

McCool

Mar 4, 2021M.D. Tenn.Mixed Result

Bailey

Feb 22, 2021S.D. OhioSettlement

Sedoris

Feb 18, 2021W.D. Ky.Defendant Win

Southall

Feb 10, 2021M.D. Tenn.Defendant Win

Butler v. Adient US LLC

Feb 10, 2021N.D. OhioMixed Result

Southall

Feb 3, 2021M.D. Tenn.Defendant Win

Jenkins

Feb 3, 2021E.D. Mich.Settlement

Baker

Jan 28, 2021W.D. Mich.Dismissed

Pynkala

Jan 26, 2021W.D. Tenn.Defendant Win

Showing 301–350 of 1,113 rulings · Page 7 of 23

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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.