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Employment Rulings in the Third Circuit

The Third Circuit covers the federal courts in Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The rulings below come from the circuit's court of appeals and the federal trial courts within it.

Of the 2,094 published rulings we track here (19672026), 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 2,094 published rulings we track in the Third Circuit.

Defendant Win
901 (43%)
Plaintiff Win
333 (16%)
Mixed Result
329 (16%)
Dismissed
318 (15%)
Remanded
170 (8%)
Settlement
43 (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 2,060 rulings we could classify by stage were decided.

Appeal
880 (43%)

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
357 (17%)

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 357 summary-judgment rulings here, 219 ended the case in the employer’s favor and 137 let the worker’s claims continue; the rest resolved in other ways.

Motion to dismiss
669 (32%)

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

Trial verdict
53 (3%)

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

Settlement / consent decree
32 (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
40 (2%)

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

Other rulings
29 (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 Third Circuit covers.

Recent Rulings in the Third Circuit

NOWAK

Dec 16, 2021E.D. Pa.Plaintiff Win

THOMAS

Dec 14, 2021E.D. Pa.Mixed Result

ADAMS

Dec 14, 2021E.D. Pa.Mixed Result

SAMPSON

Dec 7, 2021E.D. Pa.Defendant Win

ALBERTINI

Dec 6, 2021E.D. Pa.Defendant Win

LANGLEY

Dec 3, 2021D.N.J.Remanded

LAWSON

Nov 30, 2021E.D. Pa.Remanded

KOWAL

Nov 29, 2021W.D. Pa.Defendant Win

TRUSTEES OF INTERNATIONAL UNION OF PAINTERS AND ALLIED TRADES DISTRICT COUNCIL 711 HEALTH & WELFARE FUND v. CAPE SIGN SERVICE, INC.

Nov 29, 2021D.N.J.Plaintiff Win

Kathleen Fowler v. AT&T Inc

Nov 26, 20213rd CircuitDismissed

Walsh

Nov 24, 2021M.D. Pa.Remanded

BRIAN TREMATORE PLUMBING & HEATING, INC. v. SHEET METAL WORKERS LOCAL UNION 25, SMART

Nov 17, 2021D.N.J.Defendant Win

INDUSTRIAL CONSTRUCTION OF NEW JERSEY, INC. v. INTERNATIONAL UNION OF OPERATING ENGINEERS, LOCAL UNION NO. 825

Nov 17, 2021D.N.J.Plaintiff Win

HEALY

Nov 12, 2021W.D. Pa.Mixed Result

TRUSTEES OF INTERNATIONAL UNION OF PAINTERS AND ALLIED TRADES DISTRICT COUNCIL 711 HEALTH & WELFARE FUND v. INDEPENDENT WALLCOVERING, INC.

Nov 10, 2021D.N.J.Dismissed

Balkiewicz

Nov 9, 2021E.D. Pa.Defendant Win

CUFF

Nov 8, 2021E.D. Pa.Defendant Win

MATTHEWS

Nov 4, 2021E.D. Pa.Plaintiff Win

McNulty

Nov 1, 2021E.D. Pa.Mixed Result

APARICIO

Oct 29, 2021D.N.J.Defendant Win

SPRUILL

Oct 28, 2021E.D. Pa.Mixed Result

BRADY

Oct 28, 2021E.D. Pa.Dismissed

Morales

Oct 28, 2021E.D. Pa.Plaintiff Win

National Labor Relations Board v. GOVERNMENT OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS

Oct 27, 2021VIDMixed Result

HOUSER

Oct 27, 2021E.D. Pa.Defendant Win

MERVILUS

Oct 26, 2021D.N.J.Defendant Win

LIN

Oct 25, 2021D.N.J.Mixed Result

MUNOZ

Oct 21, 2021E.D. Pa.Defendant Win

BOWMAN

Oct 19, 2021E.D. Pa.Plaintiff Win

DE BLOCK v. SPEEDWAY LLC

Oct 15, 2021E.D. Pa.Defendant Win

Mallet and Company Inc v. Ada Lacayo

Oct 15, 20213rd CircuitRemanded

MADER

Oct 14, 2021W.D. Pa.Defendant Win

DEVINE

Oct 14, 2021E.D. Pa.Mixed Result

CHRISTOPHERSON

Oct 13, 2021W.D. Pa.Dismissed

Samuels

Oct 13, 2021E.D. Pa.Defendant Win

Biddiscombe

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

Smith v. Service Employees International Union, Local 668

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

Barlow

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

SANABRIA

Oct 7, 2021E.D. Pa.Defendant Win

Neff

Oct 6, 2021M.D. Pa.Plaintiff Win

Cooper

Oct 6, 2021M.D. Pa.Defendant Win

MORZINE

Oct 6, 2021E.D. Pa.Remanded

HERNANDEZ

Sep 30, 2021D.N.J.Dismissed

T.

Sep 30, 2021M.D. Pa.Defendant Win

ADORERS OF THE BLOOD OF CHRIST, UNITED STATES PROVINCE v. TRANSCONTINENTAL GAS PIPE LINE COMPANY, LLC

Sep 30, 2021E.D. Pa.Dismissed

BAGDON

Sep 30, 2021E.D. Pa.Plaintiff Win

WELCHKO

Sep 29, 2021W.D. Pa.Defendant Win

MARSH

Sep 29, 2021W.D. Pa.Mixed Result

Bliss-Miller

Sep 29, 2021M.D. Pa.Plaintiff Win

MULLEN

Sep 29, 2021E.D. Pa.Remanded

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.