Quick Tip: Learning about TROs from UM Football Coach's Suspension
The Big Ten suspended University of Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh yesterday, preventing him from coaching the team for its remaining three regular-season games.
The Big Ten handed down the penalty after finding that the third-ranked Wolverines violated NCAA rules by participating in a sign-stealing scheme against its opponents.
I’m not gratuitously writing about yesterday’s news to throw shade on “That Team Up North.”
No. Of course not. It’s an opportunity to learn about Rule 65 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
In response to the Big Ten’s suspension, the University of Michigan and Harbaugh on Friday night filed a motion asking for an emergency ex parte temporary restraining order to prevent the Big Ten from imposing the suspension this weekend. The Wolverines play No. 10 Penn State today at noon eastern.
Rule 65 deals with the issuance of temporary restraining orders and preliminary injunctions.
A temporary restraining order, like the one that Harbaugh is seeking, is a short-term court order issued to preserve the status quo until a more formal hearing can be held for a preliminary injunction. It’s usually sought when there’s an immediate danger that irreparable harm will occur before that more formal hearing can take place.
When requesting the temporary restraining order, the applicant must provide specific facts in a sworn statement or verified complaint showing that immediate and irreparable injury, loss, or damage will result before the adverse party can be heard in opposition (like, apparently, potentially losing Saturday’s showdown with the Nittany Lions and dashing the Wolverines' hopes of making the College Football Playoffs).
It is unclear how quickly the court will act on the motion requesting a temporary restraining order, or even of if will do so in time before today’s noontime kickoff.
The National Conference of Bar Examiners tested examinees’ knowledge of preliminary injunctions and temporary restraining orders in an essay appearing on the July 2014 Multistate Essay Examination, which can be on its website here.
