Injunctive Relief
If your rights are under threat, you may wish to seek an injunction. Before seeking an injunction it is sensible to obtain expert legal advice from experienced solicitors. The team at JMW can help you to determine whether seeking an injunction is the most appropriate option, or whether there are other options that might better suit your circumstances or objectives, and the resources available to you.
To speak to a member of the Media and Reputation Management team about injunctive relief, contact us today on 0345 872 6666, or complete our online enquiry form to arrange a call back at your convenience.
What is an Injunction Order?
An injunction is a civil court order that prevents an infringement of your legal rights, including privacy and data protection rights, damage to the reputation of you and/or your business, or the intimidating or distressing conduct by other individuals.
Injunctions work by either preventing a party from carrying out certain acts (for example, preventing from publishing private, confidential or defamatory information or personal data), or by requiring them to do something (for example, removing online content).
Is an Injunction an Appropriate Step?
There are two forms of an injunction - an interim injunction or a final injunction.
An interim injunction is a temporary remedy in place until the dispute has been resolved at a final hearing. An interim injunction must be applied for promptly and may be granted where the court, in its discretion, accepts that the threatened harm caused bythe infringing conduct would be so great that a payment of damages would not be a sufficient remedy. An interim injunction may be continued at a final hearing.
A final injunction is a court order that prohibits a party from carrying out certain conduct or compels certain conduct.
An injunction may be an appropriate remedy in the following circumstances:
- To prevent the misuse of your confidential information by a former employee, or trade secrets being published
- To prevent the publication of your private and intimate confidential information by a national newspaper
- Where there has been a threat to publish information in breach of a non-disclosure agreement or confidentiality provision that may have been agreed with an exiting partner in a business
- Preventing activities that may be a nuisance or harassment
- To enforce your trade mark or other intellectual property rights
Where the legal action involves steps taken to protect your reputation, as part of any application for interim injunctive relief, you may wish to seek that the parties are anonymised and/or access to the court file restricted. Our Media and Reputation Management team has considerable experience advising clients and acting in matters that give rise to considerations of confidentiality and can assist you in applying for appropriate orders to protect your confidentiality.
If a party breaches the terms of an injunction, they may find themselves in contempt of court, and risk punishment by a fine or even imprisonment.
How to Get an Injunction
Before seeking an injunction, it may be advised that you engage with the other party to request their agreement to certain steps. This might include stopping certain behaviour or taking particular steps, for example, taking material down from the internet.
In other circumstances, it may be necessary to apply without giving the other side notice. For example, if a party was placed on notice of the application, and they immediately publish the material online. In these situations, it is important you seek legal advice quickly.
If an agreement cannot be reached or it is not appropriate to engage with the other side, and an injunction becomes necessary, there are two stages in the court process at which an injunction might be obtained: obtaining an interim injunction or seeking a permanent injunction as a final remedy at the end of the proceedings. An interim injunction can be sought ahead of a hearing or full trial, while a permanent injunction can be granted if the claim ultimately succeeds at final hearing.
To apply for an interim injunction, a request must be made to the court. An application must include what order you are seeking, the reasons why you are seeking the order, and the date, time and place of any hearings.
An application for an interim injunction will usually need to be supported by evidence. This can include a witness statement or affidavit outlining all material facts of which the court should be made aware.
FAQs About Injunctions
How much does an injunction cost?
The overall cost in applying for an injunction will depend on a number of different factors and the facts of the case, which we can discuss with you at the outset. The costs will depend on whether, for instance, an interim injunction is sought, and whether that is to be with or without notice.
It is important to bear in mind that there is a strict legal criteria that must be satisfied before the court will consider applying its discretion to grant an interim injunction. Furthermore, an interim injunction is not the end of legal proceedings and, if legal proceedings are ultimately required, they may be costly to pursue. You will need to be prepared to continue to pay your legal fees to a final hearing.
For this reason, our Media and Reputation Management team is best placed to advise you on the options available and to discuss your overall objectives in discussing whether injunctive relief is an appropriate, or available, option.
When should you obtain an interim injunction?
When seeking an interim injunction, acting with speed and urgency is vital. A delay in seeking an injunction may weight against you in the balance of whether an interim injunction is appropriate to prevent the threatened harm continuing, or if damages are a sufficient rememdy.
How long do injunctions last?
An interim injunction provides protection until the final hearing or further hearing as directed by the court. A final injunction will be granted at a final hearing, and how long it lasts will depend on what the court considers appropriate. That may be indefinitely.
Talk to Us
Find out more about how our Media and Reputation Management solicitors can protect your reputation by getting in touch today. You can call us on 0345 872 6666, or complete our online enquiry form to arrange a call back at your convenience.