Unreported / Non-Citable
Background
Plaintiff Adam Anthony Solla initiated a lawsuit against Milestone Consulting LLC, alleging the company was unlawfully retaining settlement funds he was entitled to from the Boy Scouts of America Scouting Settlement Trust. Solla claimed he had an approved award of $18,662.40 related to the trust, which was established for survivors of childhood sexual abuse. He asserted that his former attorney had placed these funds with Milestone, and he sought their return to the Scouting Settlement Trust so he could access them.
Alongside his complaint, Solla filed an “Emergency Motion for Order to Show Cause, Expedited Consideration, Preservation of Records, Accounting, and Temporary Injunctive Relief.” In essence, he sought an ex parte mandatory temporary restraining order that would compel Milestone to return the funds and take other affirmative actions, such as providing an accounting and preserving records. He also requested that the court expedite consideration of his case.
The Court’s Holding
The Court denied Solla’s entire emergency motion. Regarding the request for an ex parte temporary restraining order, the Court found that Solla failed to satisfy the stringent requirements of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 65(b)(1). Specifically, he did not demonstrate that “immediate and irreparable injury, loss, or damage” would result before Milestone could be heard in opposition, nor did he provide a written certification of efforts made to give notice or reasons why notice should be excused.
Furthermore, the Court determined that Solla had not shown entitlement to a temporary restraining order on the merits. His filings were conclusory and failed to address any of the four necessary elements for injunctive relief: a substantial likelihood of success on the merits, a substantial threat of irreparable injury, a balance of threatened injury outweighing potential damage to the defendant, and that the injunction would not disserve the public interest. The Court emphasized that injunctive relief requires a presently existing actual threat, not merely the possibility of some remote future injury.
Finally, the Court also denied Solla’s request for expedited consideration. It held that Solla did not demonstrate good cause for such a request, failing to show that his alleged injury could not be remedied through the ordinary judicial process. The Court indicated that it would consider the plaintiff’s case in due course.
Key Takeaways
- Ex parte temporary restraining orders are an extraordinary form of relief, rarely granted, and require strict adherence to procedural rules.
- To obtain an ex parte temporary restraining order, a movant must clearly show immediate and irreparable injury and certify efforts to notify the opposing party or explain why notice is not required, as per Fed. R. Civ. P. 65(b)(1).
- On the merits, any request for injunctive relief must satisfy four elements: likelihood of success, irreparable injury, balance of harms, and public interest; conclusory statements are insufficient.
- Courts will not typically grant expedited consideration unless there is a compelling showing of good cause that demonstrates the ordinary judicial process is inadequate to address the alleged injury.
Why It Matters
This ruling underscores the high procedural and substantive bar for obtaining emergency injunctive relief in federal court, particularly without notice to the opposing party. It serves as a reminder that even pro se litigants must comply with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, which are designed to ensure due process and prevent courts from issuing orders that could prejudice a party without an opportunity to be heard.
The decision also highlights that courts are reluctant to bypass standard judicial timelines unless a truly exigent circumstance is demonstrated that cannot be remedied through ordinary litigation. For attorneys, it reinforces the critical importance of detailing specific facts and arguments that meet each element for injunctive relief, rather than relying on conclusory allegations, and ensuring compliance with all notice requirements.