Montana § 27-19-201 - When Preliminary Injunction May Be Granted -- When Injunction Order May Be Granted -- Legislative Intent

§ 27-19-201. When Preliminary Injunction May Be Granted -- When Injunction Order May Be Granted -- Legislative Intent

When preliminary injunction may be granted -- when injunction order may be granted -- legislative intent. (1) A preliminary injunction order or temporary restraining order may be granted when the applicant establishes that: (a) the applicant is likely to succeed on the merits; (b) the applicant is likely to suffer irreparable harm in the absence of preliminary relief; (c) the balance of equities tips in the applicant's favor; and (d) the order is in the public interest. (2) An injunction order may be granted in either of the following cases between persons, not including a person being sued in that person's official capacity: (a) when it appears that the adverse party, while the action is pending, threatens or is about to remove or to dispose of the adverse party's property with intent to defraud the applicant, in which case an injunction order may be granted to restrain the removal or disposition; or (b) when it appears that the applicant has applied for an order under the provisions of 40-4-121 or an order of protection under Title 40, chapter 15. (3) The applicant for an injunction provided for in this section bears the burden of demonstrating the need for an injunction order. (4) (a) It is the intent of the legislature that the language in subsection (1) mirror the federal preliminary injunction standard, and that interpretation and application of subsection (1) closely follow United States supreme court case law. (b) When conducting the preliminary injunction analysis, the court shall examine the four criteria in subsection (1) independently. The court may not use a sliding scale test, the serious questions test, flexible interplay, or another federal circuit modification to the criteria.