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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

Adams

Dec 20, 20023rd CircuitDismissed

Executive Board of Transport Workers Union of Philadelphia, Local 234 v. Transport Workers Union

Dec 19, 2002E.D. Pa.Mixed Result

Jane A. Gagliardo John Gagliardo v. Connaught Laboratories, Inc.

Nov 22, 20023rd CircuitPlaintiff Win

International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 542 v. Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission

Nov 19, 20023rd CircuitDefendant Win

Ruiz

Nov 7, 2002E.D. Pa.Plaintiff Win

Peter

Oct 7, 2002E.D. Pa.Defendant Win

Borkon

Sep 30, 20023rd CircuitDefendant Win

Adams

Sep 12, 20023rd CircuitDefendant Win

O.F. Ex Rel. N.S. v. Chester Upland School District

Sep 10, 2002E.D. Pa.Mixed Result

Eastwind Group, Inc. v. National Union Fire Insurance

Sep 6, 20023rd CircuitDismissed

American Postal Workers Union v. United States Postal Service

Aug 27, 2002E.D. Pa.Mixed Result

Allegheny Ludlum Corp. v. National Labor Relations Board

Aug 26, 20023rd CircuitMixed Result

Tricoski

Aug 20, 2002E.D. Pa.Defendant Win

Ramada Franchise Systems, Inc. v. Pleasant, Inc.

Aug 20, 20023rd CircuitDefendant Win

St. Thomas - St. John Hotel & Tourism Ass'n v. Government of the United States Virgin Island Ex Rel. Virgin Islands Department of Labor

Aug 16, 2002VIDDefendant Win

FES

Aug 12, 20023rd CircuitPlaintiff Win

National Labor Relations Board v. Fes, (A Division of Thermo Power)

Aug 8, 20023rd CircuitPlaintiff Win

Smathers

Jul 31, 20023rd CircuitPlaintiff Win

Smathers v. Multi-Tool, Inc. Multi-Plastics, Inc. Inc. Employee Health and Welfare Plan

Jul 31, 20023rd CircuitPlaintiff Win

D'Alessandro

Jul 30, 2002D. Del.Dismissed

In Re: Hechinger Inv

Jul 26, 20023rd CircuitDefendant Win

Sponaugle

Jul 25, 20023rd CircuitDefendant Win

Former Employees of Builders Square Retail Stores v. Hechinger Investment Co.

Jul 25, 20023rd CircuitDefendant Win

Keegan

Jul 23, 2002E.D. Pa.Defendant Win

Kelly

Jul 11, 2002E.D. Pa.Defendant Win

Chao

Jun 27, 2002D.N.J.Plaintiff Win

Snyder's of Hanover, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board

Jun 24, 20023rd CircuitMixed Result

Innovative Communications Corp. v. National Labor Relations Board

Jun 13, 20023rd CircuitRemanded

Burstein

May 30, 2002E.D. Pa.Defendant Win

Union Pacific Railroad Company v. Greentree Transportation Trucking Co. Dave Saunders Trucking, Greentree Transportation Trucking Company

May 16, 20023rd CircuitDefendant Win

Gharzouzi

May 6, 2002E.D. Pa.Defendant Win

Doyle

Mar 27, 20023rd CircuitDefendant Win

Harris

Mar 22, 2002E.D. Pa.Defendant Win

Amerada Hess Corp. v. Zurich Insurance

Mar 6, 20023rd CircuitRemanded

Elliott Reihner Siedzikowski & Egan, P.C. v. Pennsylvania Employees Benefit Trust Fund

Mar 4, 20023rd CircuitDefendant Win

McCoy

Feb 26, 2002D.N.J.Plaintiff Win

McCoy

Feb 26, 2002D.N.J.Plaintiff Win

Poyner

Feb 19, 2002E.D. Pa.Defendant Win

Marburger

Feb 4, 2002E.D. Pa.Dismissed

Pennsylvania Power Company v. Local Union No. 272 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Afl-Cio

Feb 1, 20023rd CircuitDefendant Win

PA Power Co v. Local Union 272

Feb 1, 20023rd CircuitRemanded

Solomen

Jan 31, 2002E.D. Pa.Defendant Win

Delaware River Stevedores, Inc. v. Director, Office Of Workers' Compensation Programs, United States Department Of Labor

Jan 30, 20023rd CircuitDefendant Win

Coates

Jan 28, 20023rd CircuitDismissed

Ryan

Jan 24, 20023rd CircuitPlaintiff Win

Merck & Co., Inc. v. Barr Laboratories, Inc.

Jan 2, 2002D. Del.Defendant Win

PA Power Co v. Local Union 272

Dec 21, 20013rd CircuitDefendant Win

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Guess?, Inc.

Dec 20, 2001E.D. Pa.Mixed Result

Jersey Dental Laboratories v. Dentsply International, Inc.

Dec 19, 2001D. Del.Defendant Win

Cooper

Nov 27, 2001D.N.J.Mixed Result

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.