Also known as: wrongfully enjoin · wrongfully enjoining · wrongful enjoinment · wrongful injunction
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
The status of a party subjected to a preliminary injunction or temporary restraining order without sufficient legal basis. The finding permits that party to recover costs and damages from the security posted by the movant.
Warren Wu obtained a preliminary injunction halting Waverly Insurance from processing claims. The court later dissolved the order after finding no likelihood of success on the merits. Waverly Insurance incurred substantial attorney fees defending the restraint. It recovered those fees from the security that the court required Warren Wu to post.
Willow West secured a temporary restraining order against Winslow Aviation. The order was later held improvidently granted. Winslow Aviation documented attorney fees spent defending the restraint. The court awarded those fees against the bond posted by Willow West.
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Recoverable damages include attorney fees incurred defending against the restraint. Courts have held that such fees qualify as costs and damages under the security requirement when the injunction is later found wrongful.
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Yes. A private movant must post security in an amount the court considers proper. The only categorical exemption applies to the United States, its officers, and its agencies.
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No. The rule requires some security from any nongovernmental movant. A court may reduce the amount based on equitable factors but may not dispense with the requirement altogether.
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The court exercises discretion to set an amount it considers proper after weighing the enjoined party's projected losses against the movant's ability to pay and the public interest. The rule does not mandate a bond equal to every possible loss.
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