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In the newspaper and on television we are often told that someone has been granted an
injunction to prevent someone else from doing something. How does an injunction work?
An injunction is a court order used to protect certain rights – usually property
rights. The order can be temporary or permanent. Temporary injunctions can be received
on short notice. This is a main reason why they are used. It can take months or years
for a normal court case to be heard in Ontario.
Let’s take an example: renovations are being done to your next door neighbour’s
house and heavy machinery has been crossing over a portion of your lawn. The machinery
is causing damage to your lawn. If the builders refuse to stop this trespassing, you
would be forced to start a lawsuit. But by the time you go to court, the construction
might be finished and there may be nothing left of your lawn.
In this example, you would instruct your lawyer to start a lawsuit for the damage already
caused. But your lawyer could also apply immediately for an injunction, an order to have
the trespassing stopped now before more damage is done.
An injunction can be one of two types: it can prevent someone from doing something – crossing
your lawn, in our example – or it can force someone to do something, to take positive
steps, possibly to repair damage that has been caused. It is much more difficult to get
an injunction of the second type. In some cases, a lawyer will be able to get an order
that does both of these things.
In certain cases, often emergencies, you can get an immediate or temporary injunction
without giving any notice to the opponent.
How do you actually get the injunction? Your lawyer will have to find a judge to sign
the order. Usually, of course, you find a judge in court or in the chambers or at the
court office. Injunctions in emergencies can create some strange situations. Emergencies
don’t always take place during office hours. There have been cases of judges signing
orders at family picnics or on the shoulder of a road.
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