The majority of civil cases settle before they get resolved by a court. Many of these lawsuits settle before trial, although some cases settle after trial and during the appeals process. But it’s rare for a case to settle after someone petitions the U.S. Supreme Court to review the case.
Why would a litigant spend tens (if not hundreds) of thousands of dollars and years in litigation, only to settle a case after the highest court takes the case? One obvious answer is fear of losing the case, although there could be more to it than that.
Let’s say you won at the trial level and won again on appeal. Odds are good that you’ll win at the U.S. Supreme Court. But there’s no guarantee of another legal victory. And sometimes, losing the case could mean much more than just losing the case. It could result in a legal change that means you could lose many more cases like this one in the future.
This situation may have played out in a recent religious discrimination lawsuit involving Walmart and a prospective employee who alleged religious discrimination in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII).
Religious Accommodations Under Title VII
Title VII is the law that most employees rely on if they want to sue their employer for religious discrimination. This law applies to employers with 15 or more employees and its protections don’t just apply to current employees, but job applicants, too.
A bar on religious discrimination isn’t the only right provided by...
In October 2026, a rumor spread that U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico, a Texas Democrat, had received treatment at a mental health care facility in Ohio. The claim erupted after Talarico, a s...