Opinion ID: 2391841
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Ruling on the Merits of the Case.

Text: The court holds the covenant not to compete in the franchise agreement void in all respects. 725 S.W.2d 169. Thus, the court has determined the merits of this proceeding on appeal from the grant of a temporary injunction. The rules of law governing the right of trial courts to grant or deny a temporary injunction, and appellate review of orders, are well established and clearly defined. Sun Oil Co. v. Whitaker, 424 S.W.2d 216, 218 (Tex.1968). As Justice Spears stated in Iranian Muslim Org. v. City of San Antonio, 615 S.W.2d 202, 208 (Tex.1981): the only question before the trial court in a temporary injunction hearing is whether the applicant is entitled to preservation of the status quo of the subject matter of the suit pending trial on the merits.... the question to be decided on appeal is whether the trial court abused its discretion in granting or denying the temporary injunction. See Matlock v. Data Processing Sec., Inc., 618 S.W.2d 327, 328 (Tex.1981); Brooks v. Expo Chem. Co., 576 S.W.2d 369, 370 (Tex.1979); Davis v. Huey, 571 S.W.2d 859, 862 (Tex.1978). Thus, the merits of the underlying case are not presented for appellate review in an appeal from an order granting or denying a temporary injunction. Brooks v. Expo Chem. Co., 576 S.W.2d at 370. The effect of a premature review of the merits is to deny the opposing party the right to trial by jury. Id.; Davis v. Huey, 571 S.W.2d at 862. Further, courts should neither assume that the evidence taken at a preliminary hearing on a temporary injunction will be the same as the evidence developed at a trial on the merits, nor should they decide legal questions which can be determined at the time of trial on the merits after the facts are fully developed. Matlock v. Data Processing Sec., Inc., 618 S.W.2d at 329; Transport Co. of Texas v. Robertson Transports, Inc., 152 Tex. 551, 261 S.W.2d 549, 553 (1953). See also University of Texas v. Camenisch, 451 U.S. 390, 395, 101 S.Ct. 1830, 1834, 68 L.Ed.2d 175 (1981) (inappropriate for court at preliminary injunction stage to give a final judgment on the merits). The facts are rarely developed fully during a temporary injunction hearing. Typically, neither party has had an opportunity to develop all the facts through expedited discovery prior to a hearing, and the evidence introduced is sparse. This is not an adequate record to determine the merits of the underlying controversy.