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Employment Rulings in the Tenth Circuit

The Tenth Circuit covers the federal courts in Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Utah, and Wyoming. The rulings below come from the circuit's court of appeals and the federal trial courts within it.

Of the 1,434 published rulings we track here (19722026), 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 1,434 published rulings we track in the Tenth Circuit.

Defendant Win
600 (42%)
Dismissed
258 (18%)
Mixed Result
227 (16%)
Plaintiff Win
223 (16%)
Remanded
95 (7%)
Settlement
31 (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 1,369 rulings we could classify by stage were decided.

Appeal
553 (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
242 (18%)

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 242 summary-judgment rulings here, 162 ended the case in the employer’s favor and 80 let the worker’s claims continue.

Motion to dismiss
485 (35%)

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

Trial verdict
34 (2%)

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

Settlement / consent decree
23 (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
14 (1%)

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

Other rulings
18 (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 Tenth Circuit covers.

Recent Rulings in the Tenth Circuit

Vinton

Nov 23, 2005D. Colo.Defendant Win

Paper, Allied-Industrial, Chemical & Energy Workers International Union v. Continental Carbon Co.

Nov 8, 200510th CircuitMixed Result

Sandoval

Nov 2, 2005D.N.M.Plaintiff Win

Anderson

Sep 2, 200510th CircuitDefendant Win

Phillips

Sep 2, 200510th CircuitDefendant Win

In re Williams Companies Erisa Litigation

Aug 22, 2005N.D. Okla.Plaintiff Win

Thierry

Aug 18, 200510th CircuitDefendant Win

Norris

Aug 9, 200510th CircuitDefendant Win

Double Eagle Hotel & Casino v. National Labor Relations Board

Jul 13, 200510th CircuitDefendant Win

Croy

Jun 1, 200510th CircuitDefendant Win

Boeing Wichita Credit Union v. Wal-Mart Real Estate Business, Trust

May 18, 2005D. Kan.Remanded

Brisco

Apr 27, 200510th CircuitDefendant Win

Public Service Co. of Colorado v. National Labor Relations Board

Apr 26, 200510th CircuitDefendant Win

Public Service Company Of Colorado v. National Labor Relations Board

Apr 26, 200510th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Board of County Commissioners v. United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Apr 15, 200510th CircuitDefendant Win

Baker

Apr 7, 2005D. UtahMixed Result

Bailey

Apr 6, 2005D. Colo.Remanded

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Great Plains Coca-Cola Bottling Co.

Mar 2, 200510th CircuitDefendant Win

Valdez

Feb 16, 200510th CircuitDefendant Win

Lackey Electric, Inc. v. International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local Union No. 226

Jan 12, 2005D. Kan.Defendant Win

Omasta

Dec 23, 2004D. UtahMixed Result

Sisco

Dec 22, 2004D. Wyo.Defendant Win

Daily

Dec 6, 200410th CircuitDismissed

City Market, Inc. v. Local 7 United Food & Commercial Workers International Union

Dec 1, 200410th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Cytrynbaum

Sep 28, 2004D. Colo.Defendant Win

Benson

Sep 27, 2004D. UtahDefendant Win

National Labor Relations Board v. CHS Community Health Systems, Inc.

Aug 23, 200410th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Finley

Aug 16, 200410th CircuitDefendant Win

French

Aug 12, 200410th CircuitRemanded

Cunningham

Aug 10, 200410th CircuitDefendant Win

Murphy v. Facet 58, Inc.

Aug 9, 2004D. UtahDefendant Win

Kerry

Jul 2, 2004D. UtahPlaintiff Win

Kraus

Jun 7, 2004D. Kan.Defendant Win

Skier's Edge Co. v. Ladapa Die & Tool, Inc.

May 21, 200410th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. GMRI, Inc.

Apr 9, 2004D. Kan.Mixed Result

Buonanno

Apr 2, 2004D. Colo.Plaintiff Win

Amadasu

Mar 25, 200410th CircuitDefendant Win

Adams

Feb 25, 200410th CircuitDefendant Win

Mid-Continent

Feb 17, 200410th CircuitMixed Result

Keating

Feb 13, 200410th CircuitDefendant Win

Horn

Jan 28, 200410th CircuitDefendant Win

Blagg

Jan 21, 2004D. Colo.Dismissed

Webco Industries, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board

Dec 16, 200310th CircuitDefendant Win

In Re Nave

Dec 15, 2003D. Kan.Defendant Win

NewCap Insurance v. Employers Reinsurance Corp.

Dec 12, 2003D. Kan.Defendant Win

National Labor Relations Board v. Pueblo of San Juan

Dec 4, 2003D.N.M.Defendant Win

In Re Gordon

Dec 1, 2003D. Colo.Mixed Result

National Labor Relations Board v. Interstate Builders, Inc.

Nov 26, 200310th CircuitPlaintiff Win

Brickey

Nov 24, 2003D. Kan.Mixed Result

Guadano

Oct 31, 200310th CircuitRemanded

Showing 1,2011,250 of 1,434 rulings · Page 25 of 29

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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.