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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

Oppong

Dec 29, 2005E.D. Pa.Defendant Win

Kaelin

Dec 20, 2005E.D. Pa.Mixed Result

UMWA

Nov 21, 20053rd CircuitMixed Result

Smith v. DELAWARE FIRST FEDERAL CREDIT UNION

Oct 25, 2005D. Del.Dismissed

Pennsylvania State Employees Credit Union v. Fifth Third Bank

Oct 18, 2005M.D. Pa.Dismissed

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Avecia, Inc.

Oct 13, 20053rd CircuitMixed Result

Koresko

Oct 12, 20053rd CircuitDefendant Win

Aarp

Sep 27, 2005E.D. Pa.Defendant Win

Howard Hess Dental Laboratories Inc. v. Dentsply International, Inc.

Sep 21, 20053rd CircuitMixed Result

Adams

Aug 30, 20053rd CircuitDefendant Win

St. George Warehouse, Inc., in No. 04-2893 v. National Labor Relations Board, in No. 04-3363

Aug 23, 20053rd CircuitDefendant Win

St George Warehouse v. NLRB

Aug 23, 20053rd CircuitDefendant Win

In Re: Schering

Aug 19, 20053rd CircuitPlaintiff Win

Drake

Aug 16, 20053rd CircuitDefendant Win

In Re: Erie Forge

Aug 9, 20053rd CircuitDefendant Win

Adapt of Philadelphia v. Philadelphia Housing Authority

Aug 8, 20053rd CircuitDismissed

ADAPT

Aug 8, 20053rd CircuitDismissed

Dogmanits

Jul 7, 2005E.D. Pa.Defendant Win

Adams-Tutein

Jun 27, 2005VIDDefendant Win

National Labor Relations Board Petitioner/cross-Respondent v. D.A. Nolt, Inc. Respondent/cross-Petitioner

Jun 22, 20053rd CircuitPlaintiff Win

NLRB v. DA Nolt Inc

Jun 22, 20053rd CircuitPlaintiff Win

NLRB v. DA Nolt Inc

Jun 22, 20053rd CircuitRemanded

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Creative Playthings, Ltd.

Jun 21, 2005E.D. Pa.Dismissed

Harris v. Lehigh County Office of Children & Youth Services

Jun 16, 2005E.D. Pa.Mixed Result

Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen v. United Transportation Union

Jun 9, 2005E.D. Pa.Defendant Win

High River Ltd. Partnership v. Mylan Laboratories, Inc.

Jun 6, 2005M.D. Pa.Mixed Result

Bianchi Trison Corporation v. Elaine L. Chao, Secretary of Labor

Jun 1, 20053rd CircuitDefendant Win

Bianchi Trison Corp v. Secretary Labor

Jun 1, 20053rd CircuitDefendant Win

Pelullo

May 19, 20053rd CircuitDefendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Muhlenberg College

May 17, 20053rd CircuitDefendant Win

Turnbull

May 16, 20053rd CircuitDismissed

National Labor Relations Board v. Alandco Development Corp.

May 13, 20053rd CircuitPlaintiff Win

National Labor Relations Board v. Smucker Co.

May 11, 20053rd CircuitPlaintiff Win

National Labor Relations Board Petitioner/cross-Respondent v. D.A. Nolt, Inc. Respondent/cross-Petitioner

May 4, 20053rd CircuitDefendant Win

NLRB v. DA Nolt Inc

May 4, 20053rd CircuitDefendant Win

Bowley

Apr 26, 20053rd CircuitDefendant Win

James L. Bowley v. City Of Uniontown Police Department

Apr 26, 20053rd CircuitDefendant Win

Parsons Energy & Chemicals Group, Inc. v. Williams Union Boiler

Apr 25, 20053rd CircuitDefendant Win

C.M.

Apr 19, 20053rd CircuitRemanded

Michael Martorana v. The Board of Trustees of Steamfitters Local Union 420 Health, Welfare and Pension Fund Steamfitters Local Union 420

Apr 14, 20053rd CircuitDefendant Win

Aarp

Mar 30, 2005E.D. Pa.Plaintiff Win

DOMINIC J. v. Wyoming Valley West High School

Mar 22, 2005M.D. Pa.Defendant Win

Otto

Feb 11, 20053rd CircuitDefendant Win

LLB Realty, L.L.C. v. Core Laboratories, LP

Feb 9, 20053rd CircuitDefendant Win

Arco Enterprises, Inc. v. Operative Plasterers' & Cement Masons' International Ass'n of United States & Canada

Feb 3, 20053rd CircuitDefendant Win

Adam Technologies, Inc. v. Hewlett Packard Co.

Feb 2, 20053rd CircuitRemanded

Reconstituted Committee of Unsecured Creditors of the United Healthcare System, Inc. v. New Jersey Department of Labor (In re United Healthcare System, Inc.)

Jan 24, 20053rd CircuitPlaintiff Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Federal Express Corp.

Jan 18, 2005M.D. Pa.Plaintiff Win

George

Jan 7, 2005E.D. Pa.Defendant Win

Grand Union Supermarkets of Virgin Islands, Inc. v. H.E. Lockhart Mgmt., Inc.

Jan 3, 2005VIDMixed Result

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.