Opinion ID: 745343
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Effect of the Injunction

Text: 9 It is well settled that the issuance of a prohibitory injunction freezes the status quo, and is intended to preserve the relative positions of the parties until a trial on the merits can be held. University of Texas v. Camenisch, 451 U.S. 390, 395, 101 S.Ct. 1830, 1834, 68 L.Ed.2d 175 (1981). Preliminary injunctions commonly favor the status quo and seek to maintain things in their initial condition so far as possible until after a full hearing permits final relief to be fashioned. Id.; Opticians Assoc. of Am. v. Independent Opticians of Am., 920 F.2d 187, 197 (3rd Cir.1990) (citations omitted). It follows that a district court issuing a temporary injunction upon the dissolution of a preliminary restraining order is acting to preserve the status quo. In this case, we have no doubt that Pic-A-State sought to maintain the status quo existing prior to the enactment of the Interstate Wagering Amendment 11 of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994. 10 There is no dispute that before Congress enacted the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, Pick-A-State was a legal corporation, operating a legal business in over thirty states. Pic-A-State's operation enabled its customers to buy chances in the lotteries from the various lottery states without violating federal law. In light of the fact that Congress' enactment of Interstate Wagering Amendment would have outlawed Pic-A-State's business, it is obvious that Pic-A-State sought to preserve the pre-enactment status quo until the merits of its constitutional challenge to the amendment could be heard. 11 Therefore, it is our opinion that: the injunction suspended the Interstate Wagering Amendment as applied to Pic-A-State; Pic-A-State's operations under the injunction were legal; and that obligations arising from Pic-A-State's operation are not unenforceable because of the Interstate Wagering Amendment of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994. 12 Finally, in summary, we find it incredible that the TLC urges us to adopt a position that sanctions the TLC's receipt of proceeds for the sale of its lottery tickets through Pic-A-State, and yet find that the TLC has no obligation to those unsuspecting patrons who provided it with such a benefit. For reasons already stated, Pic-A-State legally operated under the protection of the injunction and thus, had the right to collect fees for the service it provided. Pic-A-State benefitted by maintaining its business until its constitutional challenge to the Interstate Wagering Amendment could be heard. The TLC benefitted insofar as it received proceeds from the sales of its lottery tickets through Pic-A-State operations in all lottery states for the six months the injunction was effective. It may have also benefitted from not paying Wenner's claim. 12 Under the TLC's position, only the unsuspecting and unknowing Pic-A-State patrons, who paid the bill for the TLC's and Pic-A-State's benefits, should be denied any chance to benefit. 13 We cannot subscribe to this wholly inequitable position. 13 In light of the foregoing, we conclude that the TLC was not entitled to a summary judgment as a matter of law and therefore, was not entitled to a summary judgment under Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(a). Accordingly, we vacate the district court's summary judgment and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. VACATED AND REMANDED.