Other personal property damage
Federal civil · Torts · 63,940 cases filed and closed (1988–present).
63,940
Cases filed
90.5%
Ended before a merits judgment
57,862 of 63,940 cases
34.8%
Plaintiff win
of 6,078 merits judgments
54.5%
Defendant win
of merits judgments
How they closed
- Dismissed56.1%
- Settled25.9%
- Defendant win5.2%
- Transferred3.6%
- Plaintiff win3.3%
- Remanded2.9%
- Other2%
- Decided — other0.6%
- Mixed0.5%
- Affirmed0%
- Denied0%
Where you file matters
The same claim resolves differently across districts. Plaintiff-win rate among merits judgments, busiest courts first.
- District Court, D. South Carolina19,597 cases · 74 decided39.2%
- District Court, E.D. Louisiana4,489 cases · 493 decided37.1%
- District Court, S.D. New York2,336 cases · 253 decided34.4%
- District Court, C.D. California1,729 cases · 188 decided42%
- District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania1,412 cases · 136 decided52.9%
- District Court, E.D. New York1,404 cases · 155 decided44.5%
- District Court, S.D. Texas1,313 cases · 121 decided28.1%
- District Court, N.D. Illinois1,203 cases · 167 decided43.1%
- District Court, D. New Jersey1,185 cases · 143 decided30.1%
- District Court, D. Kansas1,119 cases · 78 decided41%
- District Court, D. Massachusetts1,110 cases · 185 decided30.8%
- District Court, W.D. Louisiana1,090 cases · 133 decided21.1%
- District Court, N.D. California1,051 cases · 185 decided34.6%
- District Court, S.D. Florida1,049 cases · 108 decided47.2%
- District Court, D. Maryland913 cases · 141 decided31.2%
- District Court, N.D. Texas769 cases · 124 decided33.9%
- District Court, D. Connecticut717 cases · 119 decided49.6%
- District Court, N.D. Georgia670 cases · 133 decided29.3%
- District Court, E.D. Virginia649 cases · 76 decided44.7%
- District Court, E.D. Missouri639 cases · 62 decided54.8%
- District Court, E.D. Michigan633 cases · 139 decided33.8%
- District Court, M.D. Florida630 cases · 74 decided44.6%
- District Court, W.D. Washington627 cases · 114 decided28.1%
- District Court, N.D. Ohio575 cases · 71 decided38%
- District Court, D. Oregon479 cases · 86 decided29.1%
- District Court, D. South Dakota469 cases · 23 decided—
- District Court, W.D. Pennsylvania466 cases · 61 decided29.5%
- District Court, S.D. Mississippi466 cases · 63 decided38.1%
- District Court, District of Columbia450 cases · 84 decided25%
- District Court, S.D. Ohio449 cases · 57 decided28.1%
Source: FJC Integrated Database (public domain), via CourtListener — federal civil cases filed and terminated, 1988–present. Figures are descriptive statistics about how cases of a given type have closed in a given court. They describe the historical record — not a prediction or assessment of any specific case. Not legal advice.