§ 25-1064.01.Order granting an injunction; restraining order; requirements.

Section 25-1064.01 sets minimum drafting standards for every order that grants an injunction or a restraining order. First, the order has to set forth the reasons for its issuance — a court cannot enjoin conduct without explaining, on the face of the order, why the injunction is warranted. Second, the order has to be specific in its terms, not vague or open-ended about what it requires.

Third, and often the most practically important requirement, the order must describe in reasonable detail — and not by reference to the pleading or some other document — the act or acts it restrains. A restrained party has to be able to read the order itself and know exactly what conduct is off-limits, without cross-referencing a petition or motion to figure out the scope of the restraint.

Fourth, the order binds only a defined set of people: the parties to the action, their officers, agents, servants, employees, and attorneys, and anyone else acting in active concert or participation with them who receives actual notice of the order, whether through personal service or some other means. That limitation keeps an injunction from reaching strangers to the litigation who have no real connection to the parties and no notice of what the order requires.