Picking up on last week's entry, Company A has decided it will file a lawsuit against Jordan James in Dallas district court and seek a temporary restraining order ("TRO"). A TRO typically precedes a temporary injunction, but the grounds for relief are largely the same. Most TROs or injunctions are prohibitory in nature, meaning they prohibit a party from certain conduct. In some cases a TRO or injunction can request mandatory or affirmative conduct, such as the return of a customer list or other company documents.
In order to obtain a TRO, Company A must show:
1. A request for permanent relief;
2. A probable right to relief; and
3. A probable injury.
Within the allegations contained in the lawsuit, Company A must set forth why a TRO is necessary. Those allegations must be verified; meaning someone from Company A must swear that the factual matters set forth are true. Company A should be prepared to file a bond assuming that the TRO is granted. Also, in Dallas County, unless there are extenuating circumstances, James must be provided with two hours notice of Company A's intent to obtain the TRO.
In Dallas County, the lawyer will file the lawsuit and the clerk will put the newly filed lawsuit in a red jacket. The lawyer will take the red jacket to the judge who has been assigned the case. If the judge is not around, the lawyer will have to find another judge to consider the matter. There is no "live" evidence presented at a temporary restraining order hearing. The judge considers the lawsuit papers and the arguments of counsel.
Assuming the court finds in Company A’s favor, it will enter the TRO, set a bond amount, and set the injunction hearing for within 14 days. After the bond is posted, the clerk will then issue a citation for the original petition, notice of the TRO, and the TRO. At that point, Company A must serve James with the actual lawsuit and TRO. Once service has been completed, any violation of the TRO is treated like a contempt of court. In our next analysis, we will discuss the temporary injunction hearing.
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