Utah injunctions: the four-part test is written into the rule

In most states the standard for a preliminary injunction lives in case law and has to be assembled from opinions. Utah put it in the rule, in four numbered clauses, and then added a fifth provision that tells a court what to do when the fourth is the only one in doubt.

The grounds, in the rule

Rule 65A(f):

A restraining order or preliminary injunction may issue only upon a showing by the applicant that: (1) there is a substantial likelihood that the applicant will prevail on the merits of the underlying claim: (2) the applicant will suffer irreparable harm unless the order or injunction issues; (3) the threatened injury to the applicant outweighs whatever damage the proposed order or injunction may cause the party restrained or enjoined; and (4) the order or injunction, if issued, would not be adverse to the public interest.

Note the conjunction. The four are joined by "and," and the opening words are "may issue only upon a showing" — all four, or no injunction.

Note also what the fourth requires. It is not that the injunction would serve the public interest; it is that it "would not be adverse to" it. That is a lower bar, and it is worth quoting accurately in a brief, because the difference decides cases where the public interest is simply neutral.

The same four apply to a restraining order as to a preliminary injunction. Utah does not write a lighter test for the emergency order.

A restraining order is fourteen days, and forty-eight hours gets you back in

Rule 65A(b)(2) requires an ex parte order to be endorsed with the date and hour, filed forthwith and entered of record, to define the injury and state why it is irreparable, and to expire:

within such time after entry, not to exceed 14 days, as the court fixes, unless within the time so fixed the order, for good cause shown, is extended for a like period or unless the party against whom the order is directed consents that it may be extended for a longer period.

Then the route back:

On 48 hours' notice to the party who obtained the temporary restraining order without notice, or on such shorter notice to that party as the court may prescribe, the adverse party may appear and move its dissolution or modification.

Forty-eight hours, not two days. In practice they usually amount to the same thing, but the rule measures in hours, which matters over a weekend.

The applicant's obligation at the injunction hearing is stated more pointedly than in most states:

When the motion comes on for hearing, the party who obtained the temporary restraining order shall have the burden to show entitlement to a preliminary injunction; if the party does not do so, the court shall dissolve the temporary restraining order.

Not merely "shall proceed with the motion" — the party has the burden to show entitlement, and failing that, the order goes.

Forty-five days to challenge a law before it takes effect

Rule 65A(c) is unlike anything in another state's injunction rule. Where a state law takes effect more than sixty days after the Legislature adjourns, and the applicant is challenging its constitutionality and wants it enjoined before it becomes effective:

An applicant must file a motion for a temporary restraining order at least 45 days before a state law takes effect

Miss that, and the door closes for a while:

If an applicant fails to bring a motion for a temporary restraining order under paragraph (c)(3)(A) before the 45-day requirement, the applicant may not bring a motion for a temporary restraining order to enjoin the execution or enforcement of the state law until the state law has been in effect for at least 90 days.

Forty-five days before, or ninety days after. There is no window in between for a restraining order.

The preliminary injunction route survives — paragraph (c)(2)(C) says the 45-day rule "does not preclude an applicant from bringing a motion for a preliminary injunction" against such a law. And the responding party is on a compressed clock of its own: notwithstanding Rule 7's ordinary deadline, a response is due "within 28 days after a motion is filed" in these cases.

"State law" is defined for this purpose as "a state statute, a proposed amendment to the Utah Constitution, or any other legislation passed by the Legislature."

Security: required, waivable, and not a ceiling

Rule 65A(d)(1) starts from a requirement and names two escapes:

The court shall condition issuance of the order or injunction on the giving of security by the applicant, in such sum and form as the court deems proper, unless it appears that none of the parties will incur or suffer costs, attorney fees or damage as the result of any wrongful order or injunction, or unless there exists some other substantial reason for dispensing with the requirement of security.

Then the provision that changes how the amount should be argued:

The amount of security shall not establish or limit the amount of costs, including reasonable attorney fees incurred in connection with the restraining order or preliminary injunction, or damages that may be awarded to a party who is found to have been wrongfully restrained or enjoined.

In many states the bond is the practical ceiling on recovery for a wrongful injunction. In Utah it is not. The bond secures payment; it does not cap the claim, and attorney fees are expressly inside the recoverable amount.

That cuts both ways at the security hearing. An applicant cannot buy a cap by agreeing to a larger bond, and a respondent arguing for a high figure is arguing about security, not about exposure.

The United States, the State of Utah, and their officers, agencies and subdivisions are not required to give security.

Reconsidering an injunction that stopped a law

Rule 65A(g) added a reconsideration route in 2023 for a narrow class of standing orders. A party enjoined by an order that is in writing, restrains the enforcement of a law, and "explicitly states that the court granted the order or injunction on the ground that the case presented serious issues on the merits which should be the subject of further litigation" may move for reconsideration, and:

A motion for reconsideration under this paragraph (g) may be filed at any time before the final determination of the case.

What the court does then is the important part:

If the court determines that the issuance of the restraining order or preliminary injunction does not meet the requirements of paragraph (f), the court must terminate the order or injunction.

"Must terminate." The four-part test is applied afresh, as of now, and an order that no longer satisfies it does not survive on the strength of the reasoning that produced it.

What the order has to say, and who it binds

Rule 65A(e) requires every restraining order and injunction to set forth the reasons for its issuance, be specific in terms, and describe the acts restrained in reasonable detail and not by reference to the complaint. It binds the parties, their officers, agents, servants, employees and attorneys, and those in active concert with them "who receive notice, in person or through counsel, or otherwise, of the order."

And it closes with a drafting requirement for ex parte orders: "If a restraining order is granted without notice to the party restrained, it shall state the reasons justifying the court's decision to proceed without notice."

Domestic relations cases sit alongside this rule rather than inside it — Rule 65A(h) provides that "Nothing in this rule shall be construed to limit the equitable powers of the courts in domestic relations cases," and Rule 109 supplies the injunction that applies in certain of those cases.

A short checklist

If you are applying:

1. Address all four grounds in Rule 65A(f). Three out of four is not a showing.
2. Phrase the public-interest point accurately — you need "not adverse," not "affirmatively serves."
3. State the reasons for proceeding without notice in the order itself.
4. Diary fourteen days, and seek any extension for good cause before it runs.
5. If you are challenging a state law before its effective date, count back 45 days. After that the restraining order route is closed for ninety days into the law's operation.
6. Do not treat the bond as your exposure. It is security, not a cap.

If you are restrained:

1. Move on 48 hours' notice, or shorter if the court permits.
2. Hold the applicant to the burden at the injunction hearing; the rule places it there expressly.
3. Claim attorney fees in any wrongful-injunction claim; the rule names them.
4. If a standing injunction rests on "serious issues on the merits," consider reconsideration — the court must terminate an order that does not meet the four-part test today.

Where these rules live

• Utah R. Civ. P. 65A — Injunctions
• Utah R. Civ. P. 109 — Injunction in certain domestic relations cases
• Responding to a Utah complaint
• Utah motion to dismiss
• Utah summary judgment
• Utah requests for admission

This page explains what the rules say. It isn't legal advice, and how the four grounds are weighed on particular facts is developed in case law this site doesn't cover.