A typical lawsuit seeks the court’s aid in collecting monetary damages where there has been injury to property or person or one individual has failed to live up to their end of a bargain. However, there is a mechanism is available to prevent a party from taking an action that can’t be adequately compensated through payment of money. It is in this scenario where a party would seek an injunction from the court. A preliminary injunction is a judicial remedy issued in order to prohibit a party from doing or continuing to do a certain activity while the lawsuit is pending. Examples of injunctions are the prohibition of employee layoffs, enforcement of a non-compete agreement, preventing a tree from being cut down, or a building from being bulldozed.
Injunctive relief is an extraordinary remedy. That is because most wrongs can be remedied by financial reparation. However, as an example again, a 90 foot oak tree cannot be replaced once it is cut down. The first step for a party seeking to stop an action would be to seek a preliminary injunction. A preliminary injunction serves to preserve the status quo pending a final hearing, enabling the rights of the parties to be determined without injury to either party.
To determine whether this equitable relief should be granted, the issuing court must consider (1) the likelihood that the party seeking the injunction will prevail on the merits; (2) the danger that the party seeking the injunction will suffer irreparable harm if the injunction is not issued; (3) the risk that the party seeking the injunction would be harmed more by the absence of an injunction than the opposing party would be protected by issuance of the injunction; and (4) the harm to the public interest if the injunction is issued or not issued. All of these prerequisites must be met before a preliminary injunction may be granted.
The preliminary injunction is a mere stop gap, but not the final decision on the matter. The preliminary injunction maintains the status quo until both sides can present evidence to the deciding court whether or not the subject action should be allowed to be undertaken.
The party seeking the injunction has the lofty burden of demonstrating why the opposing party should be prevented from undertaking its desired action. This is an extraordinary remedy and issuance of an injunction is not a matter taken lightly by the courts.
It is advisable to contact us or another law firm to review the merits of your case and to advise you on your chances of success in seeking the remedy of injunction.
This article was written by , Senior Associate at Demorest Law Firm. Click here to view his professional resume.
