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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 871 published rulings we track here (1979–2026), 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 871 published rulings we track in the Third Circuit.

Defendant Win
406 (47%)
Plaintiff Win
154 (18%)
Dismissed
120 (14%)
Mixed Result
114 (13%)
Remanded
41 (5%)
Settlement
36 (4%)

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 863 rulings we could classify by stage were decided.

Appeal
259 (30%)

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
191 (22%)

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 191 summary-judgment rulings here, 129 ended the case in the employer’s favor and 62 let the worker’s claims continue.

Motion to dismiss
312 (36%)

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

Trial verdict
24 (3%)

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

Settlement / consent decree
35 (4%)

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
36 (4%)

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

Other rulings
6 (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

GREENE

Jan 27, 2021D.N.J.Dismissed

AMALGAMATED TRANSIT UNION LOCAL 85 v. PORT AUTHORITY OF ALLEGHENY COUNTY

Jan 19, 2021W.D. Pa.Plaintiff Win

Pierre

Jan 11, 2021E.D. Pa.Mixed Result

Michelsen

Jan 6, 2021M.D. Pa.Dismissed

N. W. v. UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH

Dec 29, 2020W.D. Pa.Remanded

FISCHER

Dec 23, 2020E.D. Pa.Mixed Result

TONG

Dec 22, 2020E.D. Pa.Plaintiff Win

KANE

Dec 16, 2020E.D. Pa.Remanded

TRUSTEES OF THE NATIONAL ELEVATOR INDUSTRY PENSION FUND v. Maple Management LLC d/b/a RAE Lifts

Dec 15, 2020E.D. Pa.Plaintiff Win

Zhaojin Ke v. Pennsylvania State Employees R

Dec 10, 20203rd CircuitDefendant Win

HOLMES

Dec 4, 2020D.N.J.Dismissed

DOE

Dec 3, 2020E.D. Pa.Defendant Win

Laborers Local 231 Pension v. Rory Cowan

Dec 2, 20203rd CircuitDefendant Win

Hunnell

Nov 30, 2020M.D. Pa.Defendant Win

Conard

Nov 30, 2020M.D. Pa.Defendant Win

Henkel

Nov 25, 2020M.D. Pa.Mixed Result

SANCHEZ

Nov 23, 2020D.N.J.Remanded

DIFLAVIS

Nov 16, 2020E.D. Pa.Settlement

MECCA

Nov 10, 2020D.N.J.Remanded

CARTEE-HARING

Nov 5, 2020E.D. Pa.Mixed Result

BOARD OF TRUSTEES, ROOFERS UNION LOCAL 30 COMBINED HEALTH AND WELFARE FUND v. HUGHES URETHANE CONSTRUCTION CO., INC.

Nov 3, 2020E.D. Pa.Plaintiff Win

MARLAND

Oct 30, 2020E.D. Pa.Dismissed

SMITH v. RB DISTRIBUTION, INC.

Oct 28, 2020E.D. Pa.Mixed Result

Fischer

Oct 27, 2020M.D. Pa.Defendant Win

LUSTGARTEN

Oct 22, 2020D.N.J.Dismissed

MWIMBWA

Oct 15, 2020E.D. Pa.Dismissed

ADAMS-BUFFALOE

Oct 14, 2020D.N.J.Defendant Win

MIRABAL

Oct 7, 2020D.N.J.Plaintiff Win

GASPER

Oct 2, 2020E.D. Pa.Settlement

HSUEH

Sep 29, 2020D.N.J.Dismissed

In re: Allergan Erisa v.

Sep 18, 20203rd CircuitDefendant Win

IAPICHINO

Sep 15, 2020D.N.J.Defendant Win

MZM Construction Co Inc v. NJ Building Laborers Statewide

Sep 14, 20203rd CircuitPlaintiff Win

TONG

Sep 1, 2020E.D. Pa.Plaintiff Win

AHMETASEVIC

Aug 31, 2020E.D. Pa.Defendant Win

ALSTON

Aug 31, 2020E.D. Pa.Defendant Win

SORATHIA

Aug 31, 2020E.D. Pa.Plaintiff Win

FRITZ

Aug 25, 2020D.N.J.Settlement

RUSSO

Aug 24, 2020E.D. Pa.Defendant Win

Reed

Aug 11, 2020E.D. Pa.Dismissed

TRUSTEES OF INTERNATIONAL UNION OF PAINTERS AND ALLIED TRADES DISTRICT COUNCIL 711 HEALTH & WELFARE FUND v. BRITE-PAINTING & DECORATING CO., INC.

Aug 10, 2020D.N.J.Plaintiff Win

CARRONE

Aug 6, 2020D.N.J.Dismissed

JURIC

Aug 3, 2020W.D. Pa.Defendant Win

CANADA

Aug 3, 2020E.D. Pa.Defendant Win

WATKINS

Jul 23, 2020E.D. Pa.Dismissed

Fink

Jul 21, 2020D. Del.Defendant Win

THOMAS

Jul 20, 2020W.D. Pa.Dismissed

ASKEW

Jul 20, 2020E.D. Pa.Plaintiff Win

AUSTIN v. GIANT FOOD STORES

Jul 17, 2020E.D. Pa.Dismissed

BEER

Jul 15, 2020E.D. Pa.Dismissed

Showing 401–450 of 871 rulings · Page 9 of 18

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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.