§ 8.01-628.Equity of prayer for temporary injunction to be shown by affidavit or otherwise.

Before a court will freeze the status quo with a temporary injunction, it has to believe the plaintiff’s underlying claim has merit — the statute calls this being satisfied of “the plaintiff’s equity.” That is a threshold about the strength of the case itself, not just a showing that harm is threatened.

The section then supplies the practical mechanism for meeting that threshold quickly: an application for a temporary injunction can be supported, or opposed, by an affidavit or a verified pleading. That option matters because emergency relief often cannot wait for a full evidentiary hearing with live witnesses — sworn paper lets the court act fast while still requiring something more than bare assertion.

This section supplies the merits gate a plaintiff has to clear before the court moves on to the mechanics found elsewhere in the chapter — fixing a duration under § 8.01-624, deciding whether notice is proper under § 8.01-629, and setting a bond under § 8.01-631.