We’ve all heard of betting the farm on business litigation. I’ve been involved in one or two such scraps, and I’d like to think I’ve won more than I’ve lost.
If you’ve been in this type of battle, you know that money relief is not always enough. Sometimes the conduct of a business competitor puts you in a position that all the money in the world won’t cure. Either the damaging conduct must stop or your business is going down.
There is a mechanism for dealing with this kind of situation. It’s called an injunction. Injunctions prevent an opposing party from doing something or continuing to do something, or, in some circumstances, requires an opponent to act.
Injunctions can either be preliminary or permanent. A preliminary injunction, unlike a permanent injunction, is issued at the inception of litigation to preserve the status quo or prevents a party’s actions until a judge or jury can decide the merits of the dispute.
An experienced Oregon or Washington business dispute attorney knows this is a powerful tool. Broadly speaking, if you can show that you might suffer irreparable harm if your opponent continues in a particular course of conduct and that the conduct is unlawful (a breach of contract, statute or some other legally recognized duty), you might be able to stop the party in its tracks until your rights are adjudicated.
Litigation can be a long process. The mere passage of time during litigation can cause enough damage to put the ultimate winning party at trial in a losing position. A preliminary injunction could save your business and is an important tool for Portland or Seattle businesses and their attorneys.