A
preliminary injunction, in equity, is an
injunctionAn injunction is an equitable remedy in the form of a court order, whereby a party is required to do, or to refrain from doing, certain acts. The party that fails to adhere to the injunction faces civil or criminal penalties and may have to pay damages or accept sanctions for failing to follow the...
entered by a
courtA court is a body, often a governmental institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes and dispense civil, criminal, or administrative justice in accordance with rules of law....
prior to a determination of the merits of a
legal caseA legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal...
, in
order to restrainA Restraining order is a form of legal injunction. The term is most commonly used in reference to domestic violence, harassment, stalking or sexual assault...
a party from going forward with a course of conduct until the case has been decided. If the case is decided against the party that has been enjoined, then the injunction will usually be made permanent. If the case is decided in favor of the party that has been enjoined, the injunction will usually be dissolved or
dismissedA legal motion is a procedural device in law to bring a limited, contested issue before a court for decision. A motion may be thought of as a request to the judge to make a decision about the case. Motions may be made at any point in administrative, criminal or civil proceedings, although that...
.
In most
courtA court is a body, often a governmental institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes and dispense civil, criminal, or administrative justice in accordance with rules of law....
s in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, the party seeking the
preliminary injunction must demonstrate all four things together:
- That there is a substantial likelihood of success on the merits of the case,
- That they face a substantial threat of irreparable damage or injury
An irreparable damage or injury is, in tort law or equity, "the type of harm which no monetary compensation can cure or put conditions back the way they were...." It is harm where no amount of money can compensate the harm that is being done, or will be done....
if the injunction is not granted,
- That the balance of harms weighs in favor of the party seeking the preliminary injunction
- That the grant of an injunction would serve the public interest
The public interest refers to the "common well-being" or "general welfare." The public interest is central to policy debates, politics, democracy and the nature of government itself...
.
The "balance of harms" refers to the threatened injury to the party seeking the preliminary injunction as compared to the harm that the other party may suffer from the injunction.
The United States Supreme Court revisited the requirements for obtaining a preliminary injunction in Winter v. NRDC, Inc., 129 S.
A
preliminary injunction, in equity, is an
injunctionAn injunction is an equitable remedy in the form of a court order, whereby a party is required to do, or to refrain from doing, certain acts. The party that fails to adhere to the injunction faces civil or criminal penalties and may have to pay damages or accept sanctions for failing to follow the...
entered by a
courtA court is a body, often a governmental institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes and dispense civil, criminal, or administrative justice in accordance with rules of law....
prior to a determination of the merits of a
legal caseA legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal...
, in
order to restrainA Restraining order is a form of legal injunction. The term is most commonly used in reference to domestic violence, harassment, stalking or sexual assault...
a party from going forward with a course of conduct until the case has been decided. If the case is decided against the party that has been enjoined, then the injunction will usually be made permanent. If the case is decided in favor of the party that has been enjoined, the injunction will usually be dissolved or
dismissedA legal motion is a procedural device in law to bring a limited, contested issue before a court for decision. A motion may be thought of as a request to the judge to make a decision about the case. Motions may be made at any point in administrative, criminal or civil proceedings, although that...
.
In most
courtA court is a body, often a governmental institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes and dispense civil, criminal, or administrative justice in accordance with rules of law....
s in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, the party seeking the
preliminary injunction must demonstrate all four things together:
- That there is a substantial likelihood of success on the merits of the case,
- That they face a substantial threat of irreparable damage or injury
An irreparable damage or injury is, in tort law or equity, "the type of harm which no monetary compensation can cure or put conditions back the way they were...." It is harm where no amount of money can compensate the harm that is being done, or will be done....
if the injunction is not granted,
- That the balance of harms weighs in favor of the party seeking the preliminary injunction
- That the grant of an injunction would serve the public interest
The public interest refers to the "common well-being" or "general welfare." The public interest is central to policy debates, politics, democracy and the nature of government itself...
.
The "balance of harms" refers to the threatened injury to the party seeking the preliminary injunction as compared to the harm that the other party may suffer from the injunction.
The United States Supreme Court revisited the requirements for obtaining a preliminary injunction in Winter v. NRDC, Inc., 129 S. Ct. 365 (November 12, 2008). The Court changed one requirement just slightly:
"A plaintiff seeking a preliminary injunction must establish that he is likely to succeed on the merits, that he is
likely to suffer irreparable harm in the absence of preliminary relief, that the balance of equities tips in his favor, and that an injunction is in the public interest."