Stephen Jerome Scott v. Commissioner John Q. Hamm, et al.

Summary

The United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama denied Stephen Jerome Scott’s motion for an emergency injunction in his 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action. The court construed the motion as seeking a temporary restraining order or, alternatively, a preliminary injunction, and concluded that Scott failed to satisfy the applicable procedural and substantive requirements.

Holdings

1. A temporary restraining order could not issue because Scott neither made the written certification required by Rule 65(b)(1)(B) nor showed that he would suffer immediate and irreparable injury before the defendants could be heard.
2. Scott was not entitled to a preliminary injunction because he failed to demonstrate the required substantial likelihood of success on the merits, irreparable injury, favorable balance of harms, and consistency with the public interest.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Scott was entitled to a temporary restraining order under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 65(b)(1).
2. Whether Scott was entitled to a preliminary injunction based on the four equitable prerequisites governing such relief.

Disposition

other