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Court outcomes

How cases actually end

The law tells you what your rights are. This tells you what usually happens — base rates drawn from 9,382,274 closed federal civil cases: how often plaintiffs win, how often cases settle or get dismissed, and how much it swings from one court to the next. Pick a claim type to start.

Descriptive statistics about the historical record — not a prediction about your case, and not legal advice.

State appeals — do they succeed?

Reversal rates for state supreme & appellate courts. How often the court below gets overturned — by state.

Federal — civil cases by claim type

Torts

Personal injury, product liability, and property-damage claims.

2,323,340 cases · 24.3% plaintiff win (of merits judgments)
Prisoner Petitions

Habeas corpus, civil-rights, and prison-condition suits.

1,872,486 cases · 3.6% plaintiff win (of merits judgments)
Contract

Insurance, debt collection, and commercial contract disputes.

1,262,745 cases · 75.6% plaintiff win (of merits judgments)
Civil Rights

Discrimination, voting, ADA, §1983, and constitutional claims.

1,214,327 cases · 11.8% plaintiff win (of merits judgments)
Labor & Employment

FLSA wage claims, ERISA benefits, FMLA, and union disputes.

568,880 cases · 66% plaintiff win (of merits judgments)
Social Security

Disability (DIB/SSI) and Medicare benefit appeals.

516,485 cases · 19% plaintiff win (of merits judgments)
Other Federal Statutes

Antitrust, environmental, FOIA, and other statutory actions.

479,614 cases · 49.7% plaintiff win (of merits judgments)
Intellectual Property

Patent, copyright, trademark, and trade-secret suits.

319,995 cases · 67.5% plaintiff win (of merits judgments)
Real Property

Foreclosure, condemnation, and land disputes.

265,525 cases · 77.6% plaintiff win (of merits judgments)
Financial & Securities

Securities, banking, RICO, and consumer-credit suits.

249,718 cases · 42.8% plaintiff win (of merits judgments)
Bankruptcy

Bankruptcy appeals and reference withdrawals.

125,126 cases · 26.1% plaintiff win (of merits judgments)
Forfeiture & Penalty

Asset seizure, drug forfeiture, and regulatory penalties.

89,914 cases · 84.4% plaintiff win (of merits judgments)
Tax

Federal tax suits and IRS third-party actions.

53,240 cases · 49% plaintiff win (of merits judgments)
Immigration

Deportation, naturalization, and detainee habeas.

40,879 cases · 13% plaintiff win (of merits judgments)
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Marginalia · a citizen's law index
A research desk, not legal advice. Always read the cited source before relying on a summary.
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disclaimerMarginalia is a research index, not a law firm. Nothing on this site is legal, tax, or financial advice and no attorney–client relationship is formed by using it. Statutes, regulations, and case law change; summaries, search results, AI output, and member posts may be incomplete, out of date, or wrong. Any interpretation drawn from material on this site should be validated by a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction before you act on it.