Opinion ID: 788429
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Standards for Granting Disfavored Preliminary Injunctions

Text: 5 In SCFC ILC, Inc. v. Visa USA, Inc., this court identified the following three types of specifically disfavored preliminary injunctions and concluded that a movant must satisfy an even heavier burden of showing that the four [preliminary injunction] factors ... weigh heavily and compellingly in movant's favor before such an injunction may be issued: (1) preliminary injunctions that alter the status quo; (2) mandatory preliminary injunctions; and (3) preliminary injunctions that afford the movant all the relief that it could recover at the conclusion of a full trial on the merits. 936 F.2d 1096, 1098-99 (10th Cir.1991). With one important alteration, a majority of the en banc court has voted to affirm the core holding of SCFC ILC. Part I of the Opinion of Murphy, J., joined by Ebel, Kelly, Hartz, O'Brien, McConnell, and Tymkovich, JJ.; Part I of the Opinion of McConnell, J, joined by Hartz, O'Brien, and Tymkovich, JJ. Thus, if a movant seeks a preliminary injunction that falls into one of the three categories identified in SCFC ILC, the movant must satisfy a heightened burden. The en banc court does, however, jettison that part of SCFC ILC which describes the showing the movant must make in such situations as heavily and compellingly. SCFC ILC, 936 F.2d at 1098. Instead, the en banc court holds that courts in this Circuit must recognize that any preliminary injunction fitting within one of the disfavored categories must be more closely scrutinized to assure that the exigencies of the case support the granting of a remedy that is extraordinary even in the normal course. Furthermore, because a historically disfavored preliminary injunction operates outside of the normal parameters for interim relief, movants seeking such an injunction are not entitled to rely on this Circuit's modified-likelihood-of-success-on-the-merits standard. Instead, a party seeking such an injunction must make a strong showing both with regard to the likelihood of success on the merits and with regard to the balance of harms, and may not rely on our modified likelihood-of-success-on-the-merits standard. 6