Summary
The Louisiana Court of Appeal, Third Circuit dismissed an appeal from a preliminary injunction as untimely under Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure article 3612. The court held that the appeal was filed after the fifteen-day deadline and that the trial court’s ruling concerning a temporary restraining order was not appealable, although it could have been challenged by supervisory writ.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the appeal from the November 26, 2025 judgment granting a preliminary injunction was timely under Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure article 3612.
- Whether the trial court's refusal to dissolve a temporary restraining order was appealable.
- Whether the additional rulings concerning subpoenas and the temporary restraining order removed the judgment from article 3612's fifteen-day appeal deadline.
Holdings
- An appeal from an order or judgment relating to a preliminary injunction must be taken within fifteen days under Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure article 3612. Because defendants filed their motion for appeal well after that period expired, the appeal was untimely and the appellate court lacked jurisdiction to review the judgment.
- There is no appeal from an order relating to a temporary restraining order, including an order refusing to dissolve a temporary restraining order.
Key quotations
“A. There shall be no appeal from an order relating to a temporary restraining order. C. An appeal from an order or judgment relating to a preliminary injunction must be taken, and any bond required must be furnished, within fifteen days from the date of the order or judgment.” (2)
Factual background
Immaculate Heart obtained a preliminary injunction restricting former employee Cornelius Darby's employment in a personal-care-services business and his solicitation of the company's clients in eighteen parishes for two years. The injunction also prohibited Acts of Care from employing Darby in those parishes during the relevant period. The trial court additionally granted defendants' motions to quash subpoenas and refused to dissolve a temporary restraining order.
Procedural history
Immaculate Heart of Mary PCS, LLC sought injunctive relief against former employee Cornelius Darby and his new employer, Acts of Care, LLC. The Twenty-Seventh Judicial District Court for St. Landry Parish entered judgment on November 26, 2025, granting preliminary injunctive relief and resolving related motions. Defendants filed a motion for appeal on January 23, 2026, after the fifteen-day period for appealing a preliminary injunction had expired. The Third Circuit dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction.