INJUNCTION
A court order by which an individual is required to perform, or is restrained from performing, a particular act. A writ framed according to the circum-
stances of the individual case.
An injunction commands an act that the
court regards as essential to justice, or it pro-
hibits an act that is deemed to be contrary to
good conscience. It is an extraordinary remedy,
reserved for special circumstances in which the
temporary preservation of the status quo is nec-
essary.
An injunction is ordinarily and properly
elicited from other proceedings. For example, a
landlord might bring an action against a tenant
for waste, in which the right to protect the land-
lord’s interest in the ownership of the premises
is at issue. The landlord might apply to the court
for an injunction against the tenant’s continuing
harmful use of the property. The injunction is
an ancillary remedy in the action against the
tenant.
Injunctive relief is not a matter of right, but
its denial is within the discretion of the court.
Whether or not an injunction will be granted
varies with the facts of each case.
The courts exercise their power to issue
injunctions judiciously, and only when necessity
exists. An injunction is usually issued only in
cases where irreparable injury to the rights of an
individual would result otherwise. It must be
readily apparent to the court that some act has
been performed, or is threatened, that will pro-
duce irreparable injury to the party seeking the
injunction. An injury is considered irreparable
when it cannot be adequately compensated by
an award of damages. The pecuniary damage
that would be incurred from the threatened
action need not be great, however. If a loss can
be calculated in terms of money, there is no
irreparable injury. The consequent refusal by a
court to grant an injunction is, therefore,
proper. Loss of profits alone is insufficient to
establish irreparable injury. The potential
destruction of property is sufficient.
Injunctive relief is not a remedy that is liber-
ally granted, and, therefore, a court will always
consider any hardship that the parties will sus-
tain by the granting or refusal of an injunction.
The court that issues an injunction may, in exer-
cise of its discretion, modify or dissolve it at a
later date if the circumstances so warrant.
Types of Injunction
Preliminary A preliminary or temporary
injunction is a provisional remedy that is
invoked to preserve the subject matter in its
existing condition. Its purpose is to prevent dis-
solution of the plaintiff ’s rights. The main reason for use of a preliminary injunction is the
need for immediate relief.
Preliminary or temporary injunctions are
not conclusive as to the rights of the parties,
and they do not determine the merits of a case
or decide issues in controversy. They seek to
prevent threatened wrong, further injury, and
irreparable harm or injustice until such time as
the rights of the parties can be ultimately set-
tled. Preliminary injunctive relief ensures the
ability of the court to render a meaningful deci-
sion and serves to prevent a change of circum-
stances that would hamper or block the
granting of proper relief following a trial on the
merits of the case.
A motion for a preliminary injunction is
never granted automatically. The discretion of
the court should be exercised in favor of a tem-
porary injunction, which maintains the status
quo until the final trial. Such discretion should
be exercised against a temporary injunction
when its issuance would alter the status quo.
For example, during the Florida presidential-
election controversy in 2000, the campaign of
GEORGE W. BUSH asked a federal appeals court
for a preliminary injunction to halt the manual
counting of ballots. It sought a preliminary
injunction until the U.S. Supreme Court could
decide on granting a permanent injunction. In
that case, Siegel v. Lepore, 234 F.3d 1163 (11th
Cir. 2000). the U.S. Court of Appeals for the
Eleventh Circuit refused to grant the injunction,
stating that the Bush campaign had not “shown
the kind of serious and immediate injury that
demands the extraordinary relief of a prelimi-
nary injunction.”
Preventive Injunctions An injunction
directing an individual to refrain from doing an
act is preventive, prohibitive, prohibitory, or neg-
ative. This type of injunction prevents a threat-
ened injury, preserves the status quo, or restrains
the continued commission of an ongoing
wrong, but it cannot be used to redress a con-
summated wrong or to undo that which has
already been done.
The Florida vote count in the presidential
election of 2000 again serves as a good example.
There, the Bush campaign sought preventive
injunctions to restrain various counties from
performing recounts after the Florida results
had been certified. The Bush campaign did not
attempt to overturn results already arrived at,
but rather attempted to stop new results from
coming in. In turn, the Gore campaign attempted
to obtain a preventive injunction to prevent
Florida’s secretary of state from certifying the
election results.
Mandatory Injunctions Although the court
is vested with wide discretion to fashion injunc-
tive relief, it is also restricted to restraint of a
contemplated or threatened action. It also might
compel SPECIFIC PERFORMANCE of an act. In
such a case, it issues a mandatory injunction,
commanding the performance of a positive act.
Because mandatory injunctions are harsh,
courts do not favor them, and they rarely grant
them. Such injunctions have been issued to
compel the removal of buildings or other struc-
tures wrongfully placed upon the land of
another.
Permanent Injunctions A permanent or
perpetual injunction is one that is granted by
the judgment that ultimately disposes of the
injunction suit, ordered at the time of final
judgment. This type of injunction must be final
relief. Permanent injunctions are perpetual,
provided that the conditions that produced
them remain permanent. They have been
granted to prevent blasting upon neighboring
premises, to enjoin the dumping of earth or
other material upon land, and to prevent POL-
LUTION of a water supply.
An individual who has been licensed by the
state to practice a profession may properly
demand that others in the same profession sub-
scribe to the ethical standards and laws that gov-
ern it. An injunction is a proper remedy to
prevent the illegal practice of a profession, and
the relief may be sought by either licensed prac-
titioners or a professional association. The ille-
gal PRACTICE OF LAW, medicine, dentistry, and
architecture has been stopped by the issuance of
injunctions.
Acts that are injurious to the public health or
safety may be enjoined as well. For example,
injunctions have been issued to enforce laws
providing for the eradication of diseases in ani-
mals raised for food.
The government has the authority to protect
citizens from damage by violence and from fear
through threats and intimidation. In some
states, an injunction is the proper remedy to bar
the use of violence against those asserting their
rights under the law.
Acts committed without JUST CAUSE that
interfere with the carrying on of a business may
