Also known as: hardships · undue hardship
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
4 senses
A showing of difficulty that prevents a party from obtaining substantially equivalent materials by other means. This showing is required to overcome work-product protection and compel production of documents prepared in anticipation of litigation.
The relative burden an injunction would impose on the defendant compared with the burden its denial would impose on the plaintiff. Courts weigh this factor when deciding whether injunctive relief against a tort is appropriate.
A substantial difficulty to a party caused by a material change in circumstances after a premarital or marital agreement was signed. Such hardship may render a term of the agreement unenforceable.
Unnecessary difficulty in complying with literal zoning restrictions that justifies granting a variance from those restrictions.
Each sense below has its own examples, sources, and questions.
A showing of difficulty that prevents a party from obtaining substantially equivalent materials by other means. This showing is required to overcome work-product protection and compel production of documents prepared in anticipation of litigation.
Harmony Retail sues a supplier for breach and seeks internal investigation memos prepared by the supplier's counsel. The supplier withholds the memos as work product. Harmony Retail demonstrates that the memos contain the only contemporaneous accounts of key meetings and that no other source can supply the same factual details without repeating the same costly investigation process.
Hassan Hakim sues his former employer for wrongful termination. He requests interview summaries prepared by corporate counsel after the complaint was filed. The employer claims work-product protection. Hakim shows that the summaries are the only detailed records of employee statements and that recreating the interviews would require locating former employees who have since left the state.
Hugo Hart is locked out of his leased warehouse after a disputed eviction. He believes the landlord has no right to possession. Because obtaining a court order would take weeks and perishable inventory inside would spoil, Hugo Hart uses minimal force to re-enter immediately.
The party must demonstrate both substantial need for the materials to prepare its case and that it cannot obtain their substantial equivalent by other means without undue hardship. The court must still protect against disclosure of attorney mental impressions even when production is ordered.
The actor must believe the other party has no claim of right to the property and that the circumstances are so urgent that postponing entry until a court order is obtained would cause exceptional hardship. The force must be used immediately or on fresh pursuit after dispossession.
The relative burden an injunction would impose on the defendant compared with the burden its denial would impose on the plaintiff. Courts weigh this factor when deciding whether injunctive relief against a tort is appropriate.
Hammer Construction operates a noisy concrete plant next to Hazel Hoffman's home. Hoffman proves the noise constitutes a nuisance. The court weighs the cost Hammer Construction would incur to install expensive sound barriers against the continuing disruption Hoffman would suffer if the plant continued operating without mitigation.
Courts consider the relative hardship an injunction would cause the defendant compared with the hardship its denial would cause the plaintiff. The factor is weighed along with the character of the parties' conduct and the interests of third parties and the public.
A substantial difficulty to a party caused by a material change in circumstances after a premarital or marital agreement was signed. Such hardship may render a term of the agreement unenforceable.
Harold Hunt and Hannah Hughes signed a premarital agreement waiving spousal support. Five years later Hannah Hughes develops a permanent disability that prevents her from working. She seeks to set aside the waiver because enforcement would leave her without means of support after a material change in circumstances.
A court may refuse enforcement if the term would result in substantial hardship to a party because of a material change in circumstances arising after the agreement was signed. The court decides the question as a matter of law after considering the agreement as a whole.
Unnecessary difficulty in complying with literal zoning restrictions that justifies granting a variance from those restrictions.
Hana Huang owns a corner lot whose shape prevents construction of a garage that meets the required side-yard setback. She applies for a variance, demonstrating that literal compliance would require demolishing part of the existing home and that no other location on the lot allows a functional garage.
The applicant must show that strict compliance with the zoning ordinance would cause unnecessary hardship because of unique conditions of the property. The variance must still bear a substantial relation to public health, safety, and welfare and must not constitute spot zoning.
…uncertainty. For some couples, even an ordinary drive into a neighboring State to visit family or friends risks causing severe hardship in the event of a spouse’s hospitalization while across state lines. In light of the fact that many States already allow same-sex marriage—and hundreds of thousands of these marriages…
…depending on whether or not the landmark enjoys a tax exemption,[^maj-13] to ensure that designation does not cause economic hardship
…& Co. v. Wickham , 382 U. S. 111, 116 (1965); whether the rule is subject to a kind of reliance that would lend a special hardship
…as defendant; and travel being as easy as it is nowadays, and modern procedural devices being so convenient, it is no great hardship
…things constituting attorney work product upon a showing of substantial need and inability to obtain the equivalent without undue hardship. This was the standard applied by the Magistrate, 78-1 USTC ¶ 9277, p. 83,604. Rule 26 goes on, however, to state that "[i]n ordering discovery of such materials when the required showing…