This page covers Restraining Orders in civil lawsuits (TRO, Preliminary Injunctions, Permanent Injunctions). For restraining orders to protect you from abuse, go to our “Protection from Abuse: Restraining Orders for Domestic Violence, Civil Harassment, Elder, School, and Workplace” page.
Temporary Restraining Orders: A temporary restraining order (TRO) is an order by the court immediately prohibiting a threatened action. A TRO is only issued when there is a threat of irreparable harm that will occur if the court doesn’t immediately issue the order. Temporary restraining orders only last until a preliminary injunction hearing, usually a few weeks later, where all parties have been notified and have had time to prepare their arguments.