Wites & Kapetan, P.A. | The Florida Litigation Guide

By Marc A. Wites - Sponsored by Wites & Kapetan, P.A., Attorneys at Law

Temporary Injunction

1 Elements and Case Citations
  1. Plaintiff will suffer irreparable harm;
  2. Plaintiff has no adequate remedy at law;
  3. Plaintiff has a substantial likelihood of success on the merits; and
  4. A temporary injunction will serve the public interest.

Courts sometimes expressly include "a clear legal right to the relief sought" as an element of a claim for temporary injunction. Compare Wilson v. Sandstrom, 317 So. 2d 732, 736 (Fla. 1975) (including clear legal right element) with Naegele Outdoor Advertising Co., Inc. v. City of Jacksonville, 659 So. 2d 1046, 1047 (Fla. 1995) (including elements listed above); see also Heslop v. Moore, 716 So. 2d 276, 278 (Fla. 3rd DCA 1998) (including clear legal right element).

Federal State Courts

Supreme Court: Liberty Counsel v. Florida Bar Bd. Of Governors, 12 So.3d 183, 186 (Fla. 2009)

First District: St. Johns Inv. Mgmt. Co. v. Albaneze, 22 So.3d 728, 731 (Fla. 1st DCA 2009)

Second District: LaRose v. A.K., __ So.3d __, 2009 WL 2194509, *1 (Fla. 2d DCA July 24, 2009)

Third District: Biscayne Park, LLC v. Wal-Mart Stores East, LP, __ So.3d __, 2010 WL 532873, *1 (Fla. 3d DCA Feb. 17, 2010)

Fourth District: Univ. Med. Clinics, Inc. v. Quality Health Plans, Inc., 51 So.3d 1191, 1195 (Fla. 4th DCA 2011)

Fifth District: Colonial Bank, N.A. v. Taylor Morrison Serv., Inc., 10 So.3d 653, 655 (Fla. 5th DCA 2009)

Florida Federal Courts

Eleventh Circuit: Citizens for Police Accountability Political Comm. v. Browning, 572 F.3d 1213, 1217 (11th Cir. 2009)

Southern District: Reese v. JPMorgan Chase & Co., 686 F.Supp.2d 1291, 1306 (S.D. Fla. 2009)

Middle District: GPS Indus., LLC v. Lewis, 691 F.Supp.2d 1327, 1332 (M.D. Fla. 2010)

Northern District: Florida Retail Federation, Inc. v. Attorney General Of Florida, 576 F.Supp.2d 1281, 1287 (N.D. Fla. 2008)

Florida Rules

Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.610

2 Defenses to Claim for Temporary Injunction

(1) Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.110(d) (pleading affirmative defenses), and other standard defenses. See § 60.

(2) Statute of Limitations: § 95.11(3)(p), Fla. Stat. (four years); see Hollywood Lakes Section Civic Ass’n, Inc. v. City of Hollywood, 676 So. 2d 500, 501 (Fla. 4th DCA 1996).

(3) Plaintiff cannot enforce a money judgment or prevent defendant from dispersing assets pending litigation through a temporary injunction. See Proctor v. Eason, 651 So. 2d 1301, 1301 (Fla. 2d DCA 1995).

(4) In addition to satisfaction of prima facie elements, Florida courts must also consider the following in determining whether to grant injunctive relief: ``(a) the nature of the interest to be protected, (b) the relative adequacy to the plaintiff of injunction and of other remedies, (c) any unreasonable delay by the plaintiff in bringing suit, (d) any related misconduct on the part of the plaintiff, (e) the relative hardship likely to result to defendant if an injunction is granted and to plaintiff if it is denied, (f) the interests of third persons and of the public, and (g) the practicability of framing and enforcing the order or judgment’’. Davis v. Joyner, 409 So. 2d 1193, 1195 (Fla. 4th DCA 1982), citing Restatement (Second) of Torts § 936 (1979).

(5) A party may move to dissolve or modify a temporary injunction at any time and such a motion must be heard within five days of application. Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.610(d).

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