Also known as: injunction · injunctions · injunctive · equitable relief
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
An equitable remedy by which a court orders a party to perform or refrain from performing a specific act. The remedy is available when legal damages would be inadequate and the balance of equities and other factors support judicial intervention to prevent ongoing or threatened harm.
Director Ian Iverson learns of a real estate opportunity through his corporate role. He discloses the opportunity to the board before pursuing it personally and the qualified directors disclaim any corporate interest. When the corporation later sues seeking to enjoin Iverson from completing the purchase, the court denies injunctive relief because the statutory safe harbor applies.
Indigo Textiles moves for a preliminary injunction to stop a competitor from using allegedly infringing designs. The court refuses to issue the order because the movant gave no notice to the adverse party before the hearing. The absence of notice alone defeats the request for preliminary injunctive relief.
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Icarus Aviation's noisy nighttime operations disturb residents living near its hangar. The residents prove private nuisance and seek an injunction shutting down night flights. The court denies injunctive relief after finding that money damages would adequately compensate the neighbors and that an injunction would impose disproportionate hardship on the company and the public.
Interlink Communications holds a mortgage on a commercial building owned by Ideal Solutions. Ideal Solutions begins removing valuable fixtures without consent, reducing the property's value below the loan balance. The lender obtains an injunction prohibiting further removal because the waste threatens to impair its security interest.
The district court grants Ines Ibarra a preliminary injunction halting construction on her neighbor's lot. The neighbor immediately appeals the order to the court of appeals. The appellate court accepts jurisdiction under the statute authorizing review of interlocutory orders granting or refusing injunctions.
Isabella Ingram's employment contract contains a liquidated damages provision for breach of a noncompete clause. After she begins working for a competitor, her former employer sues and requests an injunction enforcing the covenant. The court grants injunctive relief even though the contract specifies liquidated damages for breach.
Injunctive relief is available when damages would be inadequate to remedy ongoing or threatened harm and the balance of equities favors court intervention. Courts weigh factors such as the nature of the interest protected, the relative adequacy of other remedies, and the hardship each side would suffer.
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No. A contract clause providing for liquidated damages does not bar injunctive relief. A court may still order specific performance or an injunction to enforce the duty even when the parties have agreed on a damages amount for breach.
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A court may issue a preliminary injunction only after notice to the adverse party. Issuing the order without notice violates the governing rule and requires the motion to be set for hearing at the earliest possible time.
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Yes. A mortgagee may obtain an injunction prohibiting future waste or requiring correction of waste already committed when the waste has impaired or threatens to impair the mortgagee's security.
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Yes. Interlocutory orders granting, continuing, modifying, refusing, or dissolving injunctions are appealable to the courts of appeals under the statute authorizing review of such orders.
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…filed dissenting opinions. Syllabus This is an action by a pregnant single woman (Roe) for a declaratory judgment and injunctive relief against the Texas abortion laws, which make it a crime to procure or attempt an abortion except on medical advice for the purpose of saving the mother's life. A licensed physician…