Legal Memorandum: Standards for Granting Preliminary Injunction

Issue: WHAT IS THE STANDARD FOR GRANTING A PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION AGAINST GOVERNMENTAL ACTION UNDER SECOND CIRCUIT CASELAW?

The standards for granting such preliminary relief are well-known.

In general, a district court may grant a preliminary injunction where the moving party establishes:  (i) that it is likely to suffer irreparable injury if the injunction is not granted, and (ii) either (a) a likelihood of success on the merits of its claim, or (b) the existence of serious questions going to the merits of its claim and a balance of the hardships tipping decidedly in its favor.  However, when “‘the moving party seeks to stay governmental action taken in the public interest pursuant to a statutory or regulatory scheme,’ the injunction should be granted only if the moving party meets the more rigorous likelihood-of-success standard.”

Beal v. Stern, 184 F.3d 117, 122 (2d Cir. 1999) (citations omitted).

If a Plaintiff seeks to stay governmental action, Plaintiff must show, first, that it is likely to suffer irreparable injury if the injunction is not granted and, second, that it is likely to succeed on the merits of its underlying claim.  See Plaza Health Labs., Inc. v. Perales, 878 F.2d 577, 580 (2d Cir. 1989).

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