You’re in the midst of, or considering, pursuing litigation against another person or entity when you realize that they’re about to take an action that’s going to result in you suffering some kind of harm. The situation is urgent, and the risks involved are obvious. This is exactly the situation for which injunctions were created.
An injunction is a legal order that either prevents an action from taking place or stops it from continuing. It is the result of an individual or entity filing a motion with the court in which they demonstrate that they are likely to suffer harm, that the harm that they’re likely to suffer is greater than that posed by forcing the other side to stop what they are doing, and that once the case gets to an actual trial, they will win on the case’s merits. The filing – or moving – party also needs to show that they have no other legal remedy available to them beyond an injunction and that the public won’t be harmed by the injunction being put in place.
Injunctions can be filed for in all types of litigation, though some are more likely to succeed than others. An injunction is far less likely to be granted in the face of monetary loss — for which damages and compensation can eventually be assessed — than for a case of physical or irreparable harm for which no real compensation is available.
Examples of situations where filing an injunction would be the most effective method of seeking relief include:
- Infringement of intellectual property – In this type of case, an owner of intellectual property seeks to keep a competitor from selling their product, or another individual from plagiarizing or using their work or trademark.
- Theft of clients – In this type of case, an employer or business partner seeks to keep a former employee or ex-business partner from pursuing their clients for a new venture or employer.
Injunctions can be administered as temporary restraining orders, preliminary (after temporary restraining orders), or permanent orders. If you believe that you are in need of this type of legal protection, our experienced attorneys can help. Contact us today to learn more.
In some cases, they are filed on an emergency basis, in which the judge hearing the case can issue a limited temporary restraining order without the non-moving party being present or notified.
