Do you need a lawyer to help you start-up or incorporate your small business or non-profit corporation or to defend against a lawsuit?
The affordable and aggressive attorneys at Cromer Law Group PLLC can help you set-up your new business and advise you along the way. When your small business is threatened, the typical slow pace of a court case can feel like an eternity. But when the threat comes from stolen client lists, a disputed stock sale, breach of contract, or other time-sensitive disputes, that time is something you simply can’t afford to lose.
That’s why The Cromer Law Group, PLLC helps clients seek temporary restraining orders and preliminary injunctions, which are among the most crucial tools for handling a legal emergency at your business. Both of these are court orders stopping a party from taking certain actions, or requiring certain actions. Even the courts call these taking certain actions, or requiring certain actions. Even the courts call these “extraordinary relief,” because they are intended to address extraordinary situations.
A temporary restraining order (TRO) is often the first step for our emergency business litigators. A TRO is an order from the court compelling the other side to comply with the law or meet its obligations under a contract. Often, this is an order not to do something, such as not to take employment with a competitor in violation of a contract’s restrictive covenant. Courts will grant a TRO if they believe it is necessary to prevent an immediate loss or injury. In fact, because TROs are designed for emergency situations, you may move for a TRO without notifying the other party, when notification is likely to cause the other party to attempt to hide assets or destroy evidence. However, a TRO order lasts only for a limited time or until the court can hear a motion for a preliminary injunction, a proceeding that involves both sides.
Once you have a TRO, or if you’ve already passed that stage, the next step is to move for a preliminary injunction. This is another court order against the same behavior, but more permanent in nature and usually involving participation from both sides. When the other side opposes a motion for a preliminary injunction, the court will hold a hearing on the evidence. To get the injunction, you must be able to show that your rights are being violated in a way that will cause irreparable harm, that you’re likely to prevail later and that you will suffer more harm than the other side would by being forced to comply with the injunction.
TROs and Preliminary and Permanent Injunctions (PIs) often mark the make-or-break moments in emergency business litigation matters, because they determine whether the business suffers irreparable harm. In many cases, that harm cannot be easily repaired with money, or a financial judgment is beside the point. For example, a TRO and preliminary injunction might stop harm to your business’s consumer goodwill through product disparagement (trade libel). Other situations where this extraordinary relief might be appropriate include:
- Infringement of trademarks or copyrights, or trademark dilution
- Enforcement of non-compete, non-solicitation and other restrictive covenants in employment
- Protecting trade secrets and enforcement of non-disclosure agreements
- Disagreements on transfers of assets among partners, shareholders or members of a company
- Business disputes in a divorce or probate case
- Any case involving loss of customer goodwill or loss of reputation
If your business has a legal emergency, time is very important. That’s why The Cromer Law Group, PLLC’semergency business litigation attorneys can be available right away, including to prepare for next-day filings or hearings. We have decades of experience in Michigan business law, particularly in areas of the law that frequently involve business emergencies.
We represent clients seeking temporary restraining orders (TROs), preliminary and permanent injunctions (PIs), as well as clients seeking to defend themselves from those orders.