Opinion ID: 4348947
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Appealability of the TRO

Text: Ordinarily, a TRO is not an appealable order. See Abbott v. Perez, 138 S. Ct. 2305, 2319–20 (2018). However, where a TRO has the same effect as a preliminary injunction, it is appealable under 28 U.S.C. § 1292(a)(1). Id. (citing Sampson v. Murray, 415 U.S. 61, 86–88 (1974)). We treat a TRO as a preliminary injunction “where an adversary hearing has been held, and the court’s basis for issuing the order [is] strongly challenged.” Bennett v. Medtronic, Inc., 285 F.3d 801, 804 (9th Cir. 2002) (quoting Sampson, 415 U.S. at 87). Further, a key distinction between a “true” TRO and an appealable preliminary injunction is that a TRO may issue without notice and remains in effect for only 14 days (or longer if the district court finds “good cause” to extend it). Fed. R. Civ. P. 65(b). 5 Although we realize that the zone of interests inquiry is not jurisdictional, see Lexmark Int’l, Inc. v. Static Control Components, Inc., 572 U.S. 118, 126, 128 n.4 (2014), we address it here as a threshold issue. 23 This TRO meets the criteria for treatment as a preliminary injunction. Most importantly, the Government had an opportunity to be heard: the district court held an adversary hearing, and the Government strongly challenged the court’s basis for issuing the order. The district court scheduled the order to remain in effect for 30 days instead of adhering to Rule 65(b)’s 14-day limit. Moreover, the Government argues in this court that emergency relief is necessary to support the national interests. In these circumstances, we may treat the district court’s order as an appealable preliminary injunction. See Washington v. Trump, 847 F.3d 1151, 1158 (9th Cir. 2017).