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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

Battoni

Aug 8, 2008D.N.J.Defendant Win

Local Union 30, United Union of Roofers Workers v. D.A. Nolt, Inc.

Jul 29, 2008E.D. Pa.Mixed Result

Oppong

Jul 24, 2008E.D. Pa.Defendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Be & K Engineering Co.

Jun 27, 2008D. Del.Defendant Win

Mallon

Jun 27, 20083rd CircuitDefendant Win

Larsen

May 15, 2008M.D. Pa.Mixed Result

SOLAE, LLC v. Hershey Canada, Inc.

May 9, 2008D. Del.Dismissed

Allen

Apr 24, 20083rd CircuitRemanded

Dupont

Apr 18, 2008D. Del.Plaintiff Win

In Re Cargill Meat Solutions

Apr 10, 2008M.D. Pa.Mixed Result

Doug Brady, Inc. v. New Jersey Building Laborers Statewide Funds

Apr 7, 2008D.N.J.Defendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. BE&K Engineering Co.

Mar 5, 2008D. Del.Defendant Win

Secretary Labor v. Roy's Constr Inc

Feb 29, 20083rd CircuitDefendant Win

TriStrata Technology, Inc. v. Emulgen Laboratories, Inc.

Feb 25, 2008D. Del.Defendant Win

National Labor Relations Board v. Regency Grand Nursing & Rehabilitation Center

Feb 20, 20083rd CircuitPlaintiff Win

PMC Film Canada, Inc. v. Shintech, Inc.

Feb 20, 20083rd CircuitPlaintiff Win

Cumberland Coal Res v. Secretary of Labor

Feb 15, 20083rd CircuitDefendant Win

Service Employees International Union v. Monsour Medical Center, Inc.

Jan 10, 2008W.D. Pa.Mixed Result

Accuride Erie, L.P. v. International Union, Automobile, Aerospace & Agricultural Implement Workers

Dec 11, 20073rd CircuitDefendant Win

Perez

Nov 27, 2007E.D. Pa.Mixed Result

Frantz

Oct 23, 2007E.D. Pa.Defendant Win

National Labor Relations Board v. International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 98

Oct 12, 20073rd CircuitDefendant Win

Norwood

Oct 2, 20073rd CircuitDefendant Win

Secretary Labor v. Trinity Ind Inc

Sep 28, 20073rd CircuitMixed Result

Tinsley

Sep 27, 20073rd CircuitDefendant Win

Flake

Sep 21, 20073rd CircuitDefendant Win

Lehman

Sep 20, 2007M.D. Pa.Mixed Result

Secretary of Labor v. Trinity Industries, Inc.

Aug 31, 20073rd CircuitMixed Result

SUPERVALU

Aug 29, 20073rd CircuitRemanded

National Labor Relations Board v. Caswell-Massey Co.

Aug 28, 20073rd CircuitPlaintiff Win

Zeneca

Aug 17, 20073rd CircuitDefendant Win

Zappone

Aug 16, 2007E.D. Pa.Defendant Win

Five Star Parking v. Union Local 723

Jul 24, 20073rd CircuitPlaintiff Win

Toy

Jul 23, 2007D. Del.Defendant Win

Impax Laboratories, Inc. v. Aventis Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Jul 19, 2007D. Del.Defendant Win

Adams

Jul 17, 2007E.D. Pa.Defendant Win

Torres

Jul 17, 20073rd CircuitDefendant Win

Brandeburg

Jul 16, 20073rd CircuitDefendant Win

Klotz

Jul 2, 2007E.D. Pa.Defendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Hora, Inc.

Jun 29, 20073rd CircuitPlaintiff Win

International Chemical Workers Union Council v. PPG Industries, Inc.

Jun 14, 20073rd CircuitDefendant Win

Merck & Co., Inc. v. Paper, Allied-Industrial, Chemical & Energy Workers International Union, Local 2-86

Jun 14, 20073rd CircuitDefendant Win

Everett Laboratories, Inc. v. Vertical Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Jun 13, 20073rd CircuitDefendant Win

AARP

Jun 4, 20073rd CircuitDefendant Win

American Association Of Retired Persons v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Jun 4, 20073rd CircuitDefendant Win

Jones

May 22, 2007M.D. Pa.Defendant Win

Davis

May 21, 20073rd CircuitDismissed

Adapt of Philadelphia v. Philadelphia Housing Authority

May 15, 2007E.D. Pa.Settlement

Steris Corp. v. International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace & Agricultural Implement Workers

Apr 9, 2007W.D. Pa.Defendant Win

Lancaster Nissan, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board

Apr 3, 20073rd CircuitDefendant Win

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.