Perpetual Injunctions: General Principles

• Author: Jeffrey Berryman
• Profession: Professor of Law. Faculty of Law University of Windsor
• Pages: 104-117

CHAPTER

7

PERPETUAL

INJUNCTIONS:

GENERAL

PRINCIPLES

A

INTRODUCTION

An

injunction

can be

sought

and

awarded

as a

final

judgment

of a

court

—

either

in

equity's auxiliary jurisdiction,

as a

supplement

to the

com-

mon

law,

or in

equity's exclusive

jurisdiction,

as the

appropriate remedy

for

breach

of an

equitable right.

The

significant

difference

from

interloc-

utory injunctions

is

that

the

court

has now

adjudicated

on the

plaintiffs

substantive claim. Whereas

the

main

objective

for an

interlocutory

injunction

is to

ensure

that

effective

relief

can be

rendered

at

trial,

the

objective

of a

perpetual injunction

is to

remedy

an

existing proven

wrong,

or to

prevent

the

incursion

of one in the

future.

The

plaintiff

must

satisfy

three criteria

before

a

perpetual injunction will

be

granted:

•

There

is a

cause

of

action.

•

Damages

are an

inadequate remedy.

•

There

is no

impediment

to the

court's discretion

to

grant

an

injunction.

B.

A

CAUSE

OF

ACTION

There

are no

limitations

on

what causes

of

action

can

support

an

injunction. However,

a

perpetual injunction will

not be

granted

to

pro-

tect

a

fanciful

or

unrecognized legal, equitable,

or

statutory right. Thus,

a

husband

has

been

unable

to get an

injunction against

his

wife

to

pre-

104