What is an injunction and why is it used?

Injunctive relief – also known as injunctive relief or simply an injunction – is a court order that prevents an organization or individual from taking a specific action. Conversely, an injunction can also compel an entity to take a certain action.

The main purpose behind injunctive relief is to limit or prevent actions that may cause irreparable harm to another person or entity. It is often used when monetary compensation is not considered sufficient to correct the wrongdoing of the entity seeking the injunction.

What are the types of injunction?

Injunctions are classified based on two different variables: their effect and their level of permanence.

Types of influence

• Mandatory Injunction:  This requires a party to take specific action as compensation.
• Prohibitory injunction:  These require individuals or companies to stop a certain act.

Levels of durability

• Permanent Injunction:  These injunctions are issued at the end of a trial and do not have a fixed duration.
• Preliminary/Temporary Injunction:  A preliminary injunction is issued at the beginning of a trial to prevent the defense from taking further actions that might harm the prosecution during the trial proceedings.
• Temporary Restraining Orders (TROs):  TROs are injunctions that only last for a short period of time. For example, a TRO may only last for a maximum of two weeks (though it can be renewed if the court orders it).

What is an example of injunctive relief?

There are several scenarios when injunctive relief would be used to settle a legal dispute. Here are some of the most common examples:

• Customer Theft:  If a former employee takes over a company's customers, the innocent party may try to prevent the former customer from causing further harm. Although the severity of this penalty depends on a few variables, a TRO can essentially stop customer theft. Then, both parties can come to an agreement on how to resolve the issue.
• Breach of contract:  Injunctive relief is an effective way to prevent a guilty party from continuing to breach a contract. It can also help reconcile their performance to work within the parameters of the contract.
• Bankruptcy:  When a company or individual is declared bankrupt, its assets are seized to pay off its debts. During this time, an injunction can be put in place to prevent creditors from recovering the debt while this process continues.
• Intellectual property infringement:  When an unauthorized party uses licensed intellectual property, the property owner may request injunctive relief to limit the misuse of his property. Most often, such injunctions are permanent.

What type of relief can be obtained by injunction?

Injunctions can provide relief where monetary compensation is not sufficient or appropriate. For example, in a bankruptcy case, it is more appropriate to ask debt collectors to cease their collection efforts than to request financial awards.

Another way to provide injunctive relief is to limit further damages that an entity may cause. In the case of intellectual property infringement, allowing the offending party to continue could seriously harm the licensed property; stopping the infringement is the most financially responsible strategy.

What is the purpose of injunctive relief?

The primary purpose of injunctive relief is to prevent future harm. If the offending entity continues to act in lieu of an injunction, they may be sentenced to jail or charged additional fees.