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What Is Injunctive Relief?
Injunctive relief is a type of legal remedy that requires a defendant named in a civil lawsuit to stop a certain action or behavior. It is often used in settlement agreements for class action lawsuits. For example, a company that has been found liable for false advertising may be ordered by a judge to discontinue the advertising campaign or stop using the language that was targeted by the litigation.
Injunctions are an equitable remedy that may be issued after a judge balances certain factors related to the possibility of irreparable harm, an imbalance of hardship between the parties involved in the litigation, and the benefit an injunction may have on the public interest.
In order to get a judge to issue an injunction, plaintiffs must establish that they have experienced or have been threatened with a “concrete and particularized” legal harm and that it is sufficiently likely that they will experience the same type of harm in the future.
Types of Injunctions
Preliminary injunctions may be issued while litigation is pending to stop a behavior temporarily until a judge has a chance to hear both sides of the case and make a decision about the parties’ rights. A preliminary injunction is issued when a party to the litigation needs immediate relief.
A preventive injunction prevents a defendant from engaging in a certain activity or behavior. This is the type of injunctive relief that is most commonly provided in class action lawsuits and settlements.
In some cases, mandatory injunctions are ordered by the court. A mandatory injunction compels the defendant to perform some sort of positive act, such as removing a structure that was wrongfully placed on another person’s property.
Permanent injunctions are issued in circumstances in which the conditions that led to the litigation are permanent. For example, permanent injunctions have been issued to prevent certain activities such as blasting or dumping on certain pieces of land. Most often these permanent injunctions are related to environmental concerns, such as to prevent or mitigate contamination of a water supply.
Do Some Settlements Offer Only Injunctive Relief?
Many class action settlements offer Class Members compensation as well as injunctive relief. This combination of benefits helps consumers who have been injured by a company’s past acts and also help consumers who may have been harmed by the allegedly illegal conduct in the future.
Before issuing a ruling or approving a class action settlement, a judge must look at the merits of the case and the type of harm consumers are likely to suffer from the defendant’s alleged misconduct. A judge may rule that injunctive relief is all that is necessary to protect the interests of the Class Members from future harm.
One thought on What Is Injunctive Relief?
Hello, I live near a Wood Preserving facility in Silver Springs, Nevada. Most recently, since June of this year, the facility has been allowing emissions from their processing which uses exclusively the wood preservative pentachlorophenol, a biocide known to be both neurotoxic and carcinogenic (please see CDC Toxicology Report). This same facility previously and under different ownership finally admitted that the offending emissions (same odor) came from their facility during the years 2007 until the new owners took over and cleaned up the place in late 2013 to early 2014. At that time they spent around three months cleaning up and upgrading the facility. I believe that the volume of production now is more than their equipment can handle. Because this chemical in use, the pentachlorophenol, is so notoriously deadly, a UN Committee has voted to have it banned worldwide and at least 26 nations including the EU, Russia, India, China, Indonesia, and New Zealand have banned all uses of this chemical. Many sources say that this chemical should never be used near human habitation and nearly 20% of the U.S. Superfund Cleanup Sites are at former Wood Preserving locations, especially in California where environmental regulations have pushed wood power pole preserving with pentachlorophenol into Nevada, specifically the McFarland/Cascade facility here in Silver Springs that is literally adjacent to residential neighborhoods and only a few miles from schools and a Senior Center as well as a highway with large volumes of traffic; the vapors seep into passing vehicles too. When the emissions from this plant are in the air and hence breathed, eyes begin burning, throats close up, breathing becomes difficult, it is necessary to flee inside and close all windows and doors for temporary relief.
We need some permanent relief. The NDEP, county and State offices that have been repeatedly contacted with complaints and concerns have taken no action to stop the emissions. Sometimes it goes on all day long. The facility has a new manager who has promised to report to the community in December as to their plan of action however this is unacceptable in my opinion. Because of the nature of this chemical and the injuries and cancers it can cause, I would ask that somehow they be stopped from what they are doing, that is, using this chemical in an irresponsible fashion that allows for these emissions into areas of human habitation. Personally I find that once I have encountered the vapors the result is burning eyes and restricted breathing and a minimum of five to six hours of blurred vision, sometimes up to twelve hours of blurred vision. The throat constriction eases after around two hours inside after a brief encounter with the chemical vapors in the air, however this means I am unable to go back outside for fear of further complications. I am unable to proceed with yard work or any other outside enjoyment of my property. I am also a full time online college student and the blurred vision has caused multiple delays in my coursework which means a delay in completion of courses as well as lengthening the time for me to complete my degree along with increasing costs. On behalf of myself and the community I would like to know as soon as possible if it is possible in any way to find relief from this situation. Thank you. Stephanie Wozniak, Silver Springs, NV