A civil case is a legal dispute between individuals, businesses, organizations, and/or public entities where one or more of the parties seek monetary damages, compensation for injuries, or an injunction rather than criminal punishment. In most cases, monetary damages remedy another party’s actions or inactions. In some cases, however, monetary damages cannot remedy the situation and an injunction (also known as an “injunctive relief”) is needed. This article answers five frequently asked questions about injunctive relief in civil cases in Colorado.[1]
What is an injunction?
An injunction is a court-ordered, equitable remedy that prevents immediate, irreparable harm from occurring when money damages cannot fix the harm. For example, an injunction might be needed to stop the demolition of an historic building, illegal construction, or an illegal eviction. An injunction might also be needed to prevent environmental damage or harm to protected animals, or to stop repeated trespassing, or to abate a private nuisance.
What does an injunction do?
Injunctions are court orders that either restrict another party from taking a specific action or require another party to take a specific action. Injunctions can be temporary, preliminary, or permanent.
When is injunctive relief available?
A request for injunctive relief may occur at the earliest stages of a case but may also be made part of a final judgment. There are three primary types of injunctive relief based on the stage of the case in which the order is entered. Each type is discussed below.
Temporary Restraining Order (TRO)
A temporary restraining order is emergency, short-term injunctive relief that may be obtained without written or oral notice to the adverse party (ex parte). A TRO expires in fourteen (14) days, unless for good cause shown or subject to the other party’s consent, that time is extended by the court. If a TRO is granted without notice to the opposing party, the court must schedule a preliminary injunction hearing as soon as possible. Once the adverse party has notice of the TRO, it may appear in court and seek to have the TRO dissolved or modified.
Preliminary Injunction
A preliminary injunction protects the rights of the parties (i.e., preserves the status quo) and prevents irreparable harm while the lawsuit is proceeding through the court system to final judgment. The party seeking a preliminary injunction must give notice of the request to the opposing party and the District Court must hold a hearing to decide the issue in which both parties are given the opportunity to participate. Colorado case law identifies the following six factors that should be considered by a court when determining whether to enter a preliminary injunction:
- A reasonable probability of success on the merits;
- A danger of real, immediate, and irreparable injury which may be prevented by injunctive relief;
- that there is no plain, speedy, and adequate remedy at law;
- that the granting of a preliminary injunction will not disserve the public interest;
- that the balance of equities favors the injunction; and
- that the injunction will preserve the status quo pending a trial on the merits.[4]
Permanent Injunction
A court may enter a permanent injunction at the conclusion of a case as part of the final judgment. Colorado case law provides that a party seeking a permanent injunction must establish that:
- the party has achieved actual success on the merits;
- irreparable harm will result unless the injunction is issued;
- the threatened injury outweighs the harm that the injunction may cause to the opposing party; and
- the injunction, if issued, will not adversely affect the public interest.[5]
Does the party seeking injunctive relief have to provide security?
Yes, a private party seeking a TRO or a preliminary injunction must generally provide security, usually in the form of a bond, to cover the other party’s costs and damages if the TRO or preliminary injunction is later found to be improper. However, public entities and their officers and agents are not required to provide security for a TRO or preliminary injunction.
Our Team
BHGR’s Litigation Group has collectively represented clients in thousands of cases in both federal and state courts, including matters where injunctive relief has been successfully sought or defended against.
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[1] Civil Protection Orders, which may be sought when someone is being harassed, injured, intimidated, molested, threatened, touched, stalked, assaulted, sexually assaulted, or abused by another party, are outside the scope of this article. To learn more about Civil Protection Orders, read Civil and Criminal Protection Orders in Colorado.
[2] Read Understanding Colorado’s Civil Court System to learn more about Colorado’s District Courts.
[3] In some instances, special statutory procedures may supersede or control the more general application of Colo. R. Civ. P. 65. See Kourlis v. Dist. Court, 930 P.2d 1329, 1335 (Colo. 1997). It should also be noted that federal courts have a similar, although not identical procedure, to the one described in this article. A party seeking injunctive relief in federal court does so under Fed. R. Civ. P. 65.
[4] See Rathke v. MacFarlane, 648 P.2d 648, 653-654 (Colo. 1982).
[5] See Langlois v. Bd. of Cnty. Comm’rs, 78 P.3d 1154, 1158 (Colo. App. 2003).