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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 552 published rulings we track here (1972–2026), 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 552 published rulings we track in the Tenth Circuit.

Defendant Win
271 (49%)
Plaintiff Win
84 (15%)
Dismissed
82 (15%)
Mixed Result
64 (12%)
Settlement
26 (5%)
Remanded
25 (5%)

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 537 rulings we could classify by stage were decided.

Appeal
162 (30%)

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
131 (24%)

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 131 summary-judgment rulings here, 99 ended the case in the employer’s favor and 32 let the worker’s claims continue.

Motion to dismiss
186 (35%)

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

Trial verdict
19 (4%)

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

Settlement / consent decree
25 (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
8 (1%)

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 Tenth Circuit covers.

Recent Rulings in the Tenth Circuit

Puentes

Jun 9, 2021D.N.M.Remanded

Reese

Jun 8, 2021D. Kan.Dismissed

Bowers

May 25, 2021D. Kan.Defendant Win

Powell

May 21, 2021D. Colo.Remanded

United Food & Commercial Workers Union, Local 1564 v. Smith's Food & Drug Centers, Inc.

May 10, 2021D.N.M.Dismissed

Porter

Apr 28, 2021D. Colo.Plaintiff Win

Adams

Apr 27, 2021W.D. Okla.Dismissed

Kenney

Apr 27, 2021D. Colo.Mixed Result

Judd

Apr 27, 2021D. Colo.Settlement

Bandokoudis

Apr 22, 2021D. Kan.Defendant Win

Mims

Apr 13, 2021D. Colo.Defendant Win

Wennerstrom

Apr 9, 2021D. Colo.Defendant Win

Watkins

Apr 2, 2021D. Kan.Defendant Win

Martinez

Mar 31, 2021D. Colo.Dismissed

Cox

Mar 26, 2021D. Colo.Plaintiff Win

Litzsinger

Mar 11, 2021D. Colo.Defendant Win

Cummings v. American Postal Worker's Union - AFL-CIO

Mar 8, 2021E.D. Okla.Defendant Win

Boilermaker-Blacksmith National Pension Trust v. Becker Boiler Co., Inc.

Mar 5, 2021D. Kan.Plaintiff Win

Carroll

Feb 19, 2021D. Kan.Remanded

Sandin

Feb 8, 2021D. Kan.Mixed Result

Anderson

Feb 2, 2021D. Kan.Defendant Win

Coates

Jan 26, 2021D. Colo.Plaintiff Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. JBS USA, LLC

Jan 25, 2021D. Colo.Defendant Win

Charbonneau

Jan 11, 2021D. Kan.Mixed Result

Ramirez

Jan 8, 2021W.D. Okla.Dismissed

Harper

Jan 5, 2021D. Colo.Defendant Win

Kahler

Dec 14, 2020D. Colo.Defendant Win

Mares

Dec 8, 2020D. Colo.Defendant Win

Elston

Oct 28, 2020D. Kan.Settlement

Benaissa, M.D. v. Salina Regional Health Center, Inc.

Oct 23, 2020D. Kan.Defendant Win

Williams v. Aeroflex Wichita, Inc.

Oct 15, 2020D. Kan.Defendant Win

Fitzsimmons

Oct 13, 2020D.N.M.Plaintiff Win

Kulasa

Oct 8, 2020D. Colo.Defendant Win

Charbonneau

Sep 14, 2020D. Kan.Plaintiff Win

Martinez

Sep 14, 2020D. Colo.Defendant Win

Hale

Aug 26, 2020D. Kan.Plaintiff Win

Kennedy v. Mountainside Pizza, Inc.

Aug 26, 2020D. Colo.Defendant Win

Hickerson

Aug 25, 2020D. Colo.Defendant Win

Lundine

Jul 31, 2020D. Kan.Plaintiff Win

Dorris

Jul 29, 2020D. Kan.Defendant Win

Ash

Jul 23, 2020D. Colo.Defendant Win

Boilermaker-Blacksmith National Pension Trust v. Becker Boiler Co., Inc.

Jul 22, 2020D. Kan.Plaintiff Win

Blanco

Jul 17, 2020D. Colo.Settlement

McMillian

Jul 16, 2020D. Kan.Settlement

Shahlai

Jul 1, 2020D. Colo.Settlement

Hankishiyev

Jun 26, 2020D. UtahDismissed

Matthews

Jun 26, 2020D. Colo.Defendant Win

Ochieno

Jun 24, 2020D.N.M.Dismissed

Sangha

Jun 16, 2020D. Kan.Remanded

Wisneski

Jun 15, 2020D. Kan.Dismissed

Showing 201–250 of 552 rulings · Page 5 of 12

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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.