Some legal problems cannot wait for a scheduled court date.
A business partner is moving company funds offshore. A former employee has walked out with your client list and is about to start a competitor. A developer has started demolishing a property you have a legal interest in. A supplier has locked you out of your own warehouse.
In each of these situations, the damage compounds with every moment of delay. By the time a matter reaches a standard hearing, the harm may be irreversible. This is when you need to seek urgent court relief.
The aim of urgent relief is not to quicken the justice process; urgent relief is for stopping damage that money cannot fix, or that would make the final judgment hollow.
If you have a matter that requires urgent action, please contact us now.
An interlocutory injunction is a form of temporary relief that the court can order a party to refrain from taking specific action or compel a party to act until the dispute is resolved at trial. Courts will grant an injunction where there is a serious question to be tried, and the balance of convenience favours granting the order. The purpose of an interlocutory injunction is to ensure that the jurisdiction of the court is not inhibited by actions before or during trial that would render its final determination worthless.
An injunction may be granted where urgent circumstances exist. These can include:
A freezing order is designed to prevent a party from disposing of or dealing with assets before a judgment can be enforced.
The aim of a freezing order is to preserve the enforceability of a future court judgment by preventing the dispersal of assets in the meantime. This aim is not to give the person seeking relief an interest in the assets, but rather to preserve the status quo until the final determination. In most cases, a freezing order is sought without notifying the other party to avoid triggering any asset dissipation.
Generally, this form of relief is sought in cases involving fraud, insolvency, or complex commercial disputes.
Search Orders are ex parte orders that a superior court (for example, the Supreme Court) may make to preserve important evidence pending the end of a hearing and determination.
A search order compels the respondent to permit persons specified as the search party to enter their premises to search for, inspect, copy, and remove items. Search orders require strict compliance with the court’s procedural rules and are carried out under the supervision of an independent solicitor.
A provisional AVO is granted when the police believe someone needs immediate protection to ensure their safety and/or prevent substantial damage to their property. This relief is applied for by a police officer and is granted by the court or a senior police officer. A provisional AVO will last until it is revoked, the court makes a final AVO, or the AVO is withdrawn or dismissed.
An interim AVO is an order made by the court when it believes it is necessary for you to have temporary protection. Generally, a provisional AVO will automatically become an interim. If no provisional AVO is made, the court will make an interim AVO at a mention to grant protection until the hearing is finalised.
A quia timet injunction is granted by the court on the basis that there is an anticipation of future harm or a potential threat. This relief is sought when there is a reasonable belief that a future wrongful act is likely to occur.
Urgency is the defining feature of injunction matters. The appropriate time to contact us is as soon as you become aware of a situation that requires immediate court relief. The court assesses applications partly on whether the applicant acted promptly once the risk became apparent.
Urgent court applications are fast-paced, and the preparation requires such speed.
At Citilawyers, we assess your position quickly, the strength of your underlying claim, the evidence available, the risk of delay, and what type of relief is appropriate. Most applications require full and frank disclosure to the court of all material facts.
Once the decision is made to proceed, we prepare the application materials:
Undertakings as to damages are a formal promise by the applicant to compensate the other party for any loss caused by the injunction if it is ultimately found to have been wrongly granted. Courts will not grant an injunction without it.
After the order is made, we manage the next stages — serving the respondent, attending to the return of the order, and managing the matter through to a final resolution.
Urgent injunction applications involve legal fees for preparation and court appearances, court filing fees, and in some instances, barrister fees. Courts require every applicant to give an undertaking as to damages before an injunction is granted. This means you accept potential liability for the respondent’s losses if the injunction is ultimately found to have been wrongly made.
Urgent Court relief requires immediate action.
If you are considering seeking urgent court relief, contact our litigation lawyers immediately.
For the full range of civil and commercial litigation services we provide, including court proceedings, appeals, and enforcement, see our civil and commercial litigation lawyers page.
Some legal problems cannot wait for a scheduled court date.
A business partner is moving company funds offshore. A former employee has walked out with your client list and is about to start a competitor. A developer has started demolishing a property you have a legal interest in. A supplier has locked you out of your own warehouse.
In each of these situations, the damage compounds with every moment of delay. By the time a matter reaches a standard hearing, the harm may be irreversible. This is when you need to seek urgent court relief.
The aim of urgent relief is not to quicken the justice process; urgent relief is for stopping damage that money cannot fix, or that would make the final judgment hollow.
If you have a matter that requires urgent action, please contact us now.
An interlocutory injunction is a form of temporary relief that the court can order a party to refrain from taking specific action or compel a party to act until the dispute is resolved at trial. Courts will grant an injunction where there is a serious question to be tried, and the balance of convenience favours granting the order. The purpose of an interlocutory injunction is to ensure that the jurisdiction of the court is not inhibited by actions before or during trial that would render its final determination worthless.
An injunction may be granted where urgent circumstances exist. These can include:
A freezing order is designed to prevent a party from disposing of or dealing with assets before a judgment can be enforced.
The aim of a freezing order is to preserve the enforceability of a future court judgment by preventing the dispersal of assets in the meantime. This aim is not to give the person seeking relief an interest in the assets, but rather to preserve the status quo until the final determination. In most cases, a freezing order is sought without notifying the other party to avoid triggering any asset dissipation.
Generally, this form of relief is sought in cases involving fraud, insolvency, or complex commercial disputes.
Search Orders are ex parte orders that a superior court (for example, the Supreme Court) may make to preserve important evidence pending the end of a hearing and determination.
A search order compels the respondent to permit persons specified as the search party to enter their premises to search for, inspect, copy, and remove items. Search orders require strict compliance with the court’s procedural rules and are carried out under the supervision of an independent solicitor.
A provisional AVO is granted when the police believe someone needs immediate protection to ensure their safety and/or prevent substantial damage to their property. This relief is applied for by a police officer and is granted by the court or a senior police officer. A provisional AVO will last until it is revoked, the court makes a final AVO, or the AVO is withdrawn or dismissed.
An interim AVO is an order made by the court when it believes it is necessary for you to have temporary protection. Generally, a provisional AVO will automatically become an interim. If no provisional AVO is made, the court will make an interim AVO at a mention to grant protection until the hearing is finalised.
A quia timet injunction is granted by the court on the basis that there is an anticipation of future harm or a potential threat. This relief is sought when there is a reasonable belief that a future wrongful act is likely to occur.
Urgency is the defining feature of injunction matters. The appropriate time to contact us is as soon as you become aware of a situation that requires immediate court relief. The court assesses applications partly on whether the applicant acted promptly once the risk became apparent.
Urgent court applications are fast-paced, and the preparation requires such speed.
At Citilawyers, we assess your position quickly, the strength of your underlying claim, the evidence available, the risk of delay, and what type of relief is appropriate. Most applications require full and frank disclosure to the court of all material facts.
Once the decision is made to proceed, we prepare the application materials:
Undertakings as to damages are a formal promise by the applicant to compensate the other party for any loss caused by the injunction if it is ultimately found to have been wrongly granted. Courts will not grant an injunction without it.
After the order is made, we manage the next stages — serving the respondent, attending to the return of the order, and managing the matter through to a final resolution.
Urgent injunction applications involve legal fees for preparation and court appearances, court filing fees, and in some instances, barrister fees. Courts require every applicant to give an undertaking as to damages before an injunction is granted. This means you accept potential liability for the respondent’s losses if the injunction is ultimately found to have been wrongly made.
Urgent Court relief requires immediate action.
If you are considering seeking urgent court relief, contact our litigation lawyers immediately.
For the full range of civil and commercial litigation services we provide, including court proceedings, appeals, and enforcement, see our civil and commercial litigation lawyers page.
Yes. Courts can grant injunctions on an ex parte basis. This means, without prior notice to the respondent. This can be applied for when giving notice would defeat the purpose of the order. This is common where there is a genuine risk that the other party would take the harmful action the moment they received notification. When an ex parte order is granted, there is always a return date (usually within a few days) where the respondent can appear and argue that the order should be set aside.
In genuine emergencies, the Supreme Court can grant interim injunctions within hours of an application being made. The duty judge is available during business hours for urgent matters, and the court has procedures for after-hours applications in exceptional cases. The speed of the process depends on the quality of preparation; the evidence needs to be ready, and the draft orders need to be clear before the application is made.
Breach of a court injunction is contempt of court, which carries serious consequences including substantial fines and imprisonment. If a respondent has breached an injunction, contact us immediately. The court’s ability to enforce its orders is one of the most significant practical advantages of obtaining injunctive relief.
An injunction typically restrains a party from taking a specific action or compels them to take one. A freezing order specifically restricts a party from dealing with or disposing of assets. In practice they are often used together — a freezing order prevents asset dissipation while an interlocutory injunction restrains the underlying conduct. For more on freezing orders specifically, see our freezing orders guide.
