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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

Spencer

Sep 26, 2024D.N.M.Defendant Win

Smith v. Transwest Inc.

Sep 26, 2024D. Colo.Dismissed

Benbrook

Sep 25, 2024D. Kan.Defendant Win

Jane Doe v. Taos Municipal Schools

Sep 23, 2024D.N.M.Mixed Result

Romero-Valdez

Sep 23, 2024D.N.M.Dismissed

Myers

Sep 19, 2024D.N.M.Mixed Result

Bennett

Sep 18, 2024D. Colo.Plaintiff Win

Watson

Sep 17, 2024D. Kan.Dismissed

Rostro

Sep 12, 2024D.N.M.Mixed Result

Spikes

Sep 10, 2024D. Colo.Dismissed

WCDTF

Sep 9, 2024D. Colo.Mixed Result

Smith v. Transwest Inc.

Sep 9, 2024D. Colo.Dismissed

Jarrell

Sep 3, 2024D.N.M.Defendant Win

Mitchell v. Ascension Via Christi Hospital St Teresa, Inc.

Aug 30, 2024D. Kan.Dismissed

Easter

Aug 28, 2024W.D. Okla.Defendant Win

Rylatt

Aug 28, 2024D. Colo.Dismissed

Elliott

Aug 27, 2024D. Kan.Remanded

Everett

Aug 27, 2024D. Colo.Mixed Result

Woods

Aug 26, 2024D. Kan.Dismissed

Stewart

Aug 22, 2024W.D. Okla.Defendant Win

Grant Township v. Board of County Commissioners of Douglas County, Kansas

Aug 22, 2024D. Kan.Dismissed

McFadden

Aug 21, 2024D. Kan.Mixed Result

Riles

Aug 20, 2024W.D. Okla.Plaintiff Win

Rodriguez-Ortega

Aug 20, 2024D.N.M.Defendant Win

Palczynsky

Aug 19, 2024D.N.M.Defendant Win

Deakin

Aug 14, 2024D.N.M.Remanded

Middleton

Aug 14, 2024D. Kan.Mixed Result

Escalante

Aug 13, 2024D. Kan.Dismissed

Bereznak

Aug 12, 2024D. Colo.Defendant Win

Alexander

Aug 9, 2024N.D. Okla.Dismissed

Stuart

Aug 9, 2024D. Kan.Dismissed

Cranmer

Aug 9, 2024D. Kan.Defendant Win

Brooks

Aug 6, 2024D. Kan.Dismissed

Nguyen

Aug 5, 2024D. Kan.Remanded

Romero

Jul 31, 2024D.N.M.Dismissed

Gomez

Jul 30, 2024D. Kan.Mixed Result

Valentine

Jul 29, 2024W.D. Okla.Defendant Win

Shortey

Jul 25, 2024D. Kan.Defendant Win

Rivera

Jul 23, 2024D.N.M.Mixed Result

Jamie C. v. Health Care Services Corporation

Jul 23, 2024D. Kan.Dismissed

Briscoe

Jul 23, 2024D. Kan.Mixed Result

Fowler

Jul 22, 2024D.N.M.Defendant Win

Hix

Jul 19, 2024D.N.M.Mixed Result

Hix

Jul 19, 2024D.N.M.Defendant Win

Hix

Jul 19, 2024D.N.M.Dismissed

Eguakun

Jul 15, 2024D. Colo.Dismissed

Feigenblatt-Blazquez

Jul 15, 2024D. Colo.Dismissed

Jones

Jul 15, 2024D. Colo.Defendant Win

Walker

Jul 11, 2024D. UtahPlaintiff Win

Lovato

Jul 2, 2024D.N.M.Dismissed

Browse Other 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.