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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN 

SOUTHERN DIVISION 

WILLIAM COWAN, 

Plaintiff, 

v. 

TRENT MILLER, ET AL., 

Defendants. 

 /

Case No. 15-cv-12428 

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT JUDGE

GERSHWIN A. DRAIN

UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

ANTHONY P. PATTI

ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR A TEMPORARY RESTRAINING 

ORDER [58] 

Plaintiff William Cowan is a prisoner in the custody of the Michigan 

Department of Corrections. He filed the this action on July 2, 2015, alleging that he 

was denied a Ramadan meal, resulting in a “hypoglycemic low blood sugar attack” 

and restraint by staff. Dkt. No. 1. The Court dismissed Plaintiff’s claims arising out 

of denial of his Ramadan meal because Plaintiff had not exhausted his 

administrative remedies, but allowed his claims related to mistreatment during his 

restraint to continue. Dkt. No. 40. A motion to change venue to the Western 

District of Michigan is currently pending before the Court. Dkt. No. 51. 

On February 13, 2017, Plaintiff filed a motion “for an injunction for a 

temporary restraining order.” Dkt. No. 58. In his motion, Plaintiff alleges that staff 

at the Alger Correctional Facility (LMF) have been subjecting Plaintiff to “undue 

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burden, retaliation, destruction of legal property, annoyance[,] and harassment.” Id. 

at 1. He requests that the Court order him to be transferred to a prison “out of the 

jurisdiction of the upper peninsula where more of the department’s employees who 

are named in [P]laintiff[’]s suit has [sic] familiar and friends working and an order 

for the administration here at L.M.F. to cease harassing [P]laintiff and vandalizing 

his property.” Id. at 2. 

A. Standards for Issuance of a Temporary Restraining Order 

A temporary restraining order is an extraordinary measure of relief that a 

federal court may impose without notice to the adverse party if, in an affidavit or 

verified complaint, the movant “clearly show[s] that immediate and irreparable 

injury, loss, or damage will result to the movant before the adverse party can be 

heard in opposition.” FED. R. CIV. P. 65(b)(1)(A). The purpose in issuing a 

temporary restraining order is to preserve the status quo pending a fuller hearing. 

In order to prevail on a motion for injunctive relief, the moving party must 

demonstrate that (1) it is likely to succeed on the merits; (2) it is likely to suffer 

irreparable harm in the absence of preliminary relief; (3) the balance of equities 

tips in its favor; and (4) that the relief sought is in the public interest. Winter v. 

Natural Res. Def. Council, Inc., 555 U.S. 7, 20 (2008). 

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Plaintiff cannot show any chance of success on the merits because the 

allegations and relief requested in his motion for a temporary restraining order are 

unrelated to the allegations in his complaint. 

B. The Court Lacks Jurisdiction 

Plaintiff’s complaint—the subject of the present case—arises out of 

incidents that occurred in July 2014 at the Chippewa Correctional Facility in 

Kincheloe, Michigan, while his motion for a temporary restraining order complains 

of harassment in 2017 at the Alger Correctional Facility in Munising, Michigan. 

Compare Dkt. No. 1 with Dkt. No. 58. The persons against whom Plaintiff seeks 

relief in his motion—administrative staff at the Alger facility—are not defendants 

in this action. Id. 

A district court has no authority to grant relief in the form of a temporary 

restraining order where it has no jurisdiction over the parties. Ruhrgas AG v. 

Marathon Oil Co., 526 U.S. 574, 584 (1999). The individuals working at the Alger 

Correctional Facility have not been served with a legal complaint, and none of the 

individuals against whom Plaintiff seeks relief in his motion are defendants in this 

case. Plaintiff also provides no specific facts to show that these individuals were 

acting “in active concert or participation” with defendants. FED. R. CIV. P. 

65(d)(2); Zenith Radio Corp. v. Hazeltine Research, Inc., 395 U.S. 100, 112 (1969) 

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(“[A] nonparty with notice cannot be held in contempt until shown to be in concert 

or participation.”). 

“A federal court may issue an injunction if it has personal jurisdiction over 

the parties and subject matter jurisdiction over the claim; it may not attempt to 

determine the rights of persons not before the court.” Zepeda v. United States 

Immigration Service, 753 F.2d 719, 727 (9th Cir. 1985). Because the court lacks 

jurisdiction over the individuals against whom Plaintiff seeks injunctive relief, his 

motion must be denied. 

C. Plaintiff’s Request is Defective 

Federal Rule 65(b)(1) permits issuance of a temporary restraining order 

without notice to the adverse party only if: 

(A) specific facts in an affidavit or a verified complaint clearly 

show that immediate and irreparable injury, loss, or damage will result 

to the movant before the adverse party can be heard in opposition; and 

(B) the movant’s attorney certifies in writing any efforts made to 

give notice and the reasons why it should not be required. 

Plaintiff has not provided the certification required by this rule, and as already 

addressed, the individuals identified by Plaintiff are not defendants to this action 

and there is no indication they have been served with the motion. Dkt. No. 58. 

D. Conclusion 

For the reasons set forth above, Plaintiff’s motion must be denied. If 

Plaintiff wants to pursue an action related to the claims in his motion for a 

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temporary restraining order, he will need to initiate a new complaint in a separate 

action. 

Plaintiff’s motion for a temporary restraining order [58] is DENIED. 

IT IS SO ORDERED. 

Dated: February 22, 2017 

 /s/Gershwin A Drain 

 HON. GERSHWIN A. DRAIN 

 United States District Court Judge

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