THE STEPHAN COMPANY, OLD 97 COMPANY, AND FRANK F. FEROLA, APPELLANTS,
v.
FAULDING HEALTHCARE (IP) HOLDINGS, INC., AND FAULDING CONSUMER, INC., APPELLEES

Fla. 4th DCA | 2003-04-16
No. 4D02-2889
GUNTHER and SHAHOOD, JJ„ concur.
844 So. 2d 676 Florida District Court of Appeal, Fourth District (2003) Caution
Cited by 10 cases

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Holding

The court held that a temporary injunction was erroneously granted because there was no indication of future harm or a likelihood of repeated infringing activity.


Headnotes

[1] A temporary injunction is an extraordinary remedy that should be granted sparingly.

[2] To obtain a temporary injunction, a party must demonstrate irreparable harm, lack of an adequate remedy at law, a substantial likelihood of success on the merits, and tha…

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Facts & Procedural History

Faulding entered a manufacturing agreement with Stephan. Faulding rejected some product, and Stephan explored the market for it, which Faulding consid…

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Opinion of the Court
POLEN, C.J.

POLEN, C.J.

This appeal arises from a trial court’s entry of a temporary injunction. We conclude that the entry of the injunction was erroneous and for the reasons set forth below we reverse the ruling of the trial court.

A brief discussion of the facts is necessary. On August 25, 2000, Faulding entered into a three year manufacturing agreement with The Stephan Company, whereby Stephan agreed to manufacture “Sea & Ski” products for three years pursuant to the specific terms of the agreement.

During the first year of the agreement, problems arose between the parties when Faulding rejected some of the product as not meeting its specifications. In an attempt to rectify the situation, in the summer of 2001 Faulding reached an agreement with Stephan allowing Stephan to explore whether there was a market for the rejected product. The agreement allowed Stephan to explore the market, but not to sell the product.

As a result of this agreement, a Stephan employee contacted two potential buyers to see if there was any interest in the rejected product. The Stephan employee contacted the buyers by phone and by email and explained he had the products for sale, describing the products by name and bar code number, and went so far as to ask whether the buyer was interested.

As a result of what Faulding considers the attempted sale of the rejected goods, Faulding filed a complaint against Stephan alleging numerous trademark violations, breach of contract, and seeking declaratory and monetary relief.

One day later, Stephan sent Faulding a letter explaining that Stephan had explored the potential market for the rejected product and concluded that there was none. In addition, the letter explained they were tendering the product back to Faulding. Thereafter, Faulding filed a motion for temporary injunction which was granted by the trial court. This appeal followed and we now reverse the entry of the temporary injunction.

The applicable standard of review is abuse of discretion. See Nastasi v. Thomas, 766 So. 2d 462 (Fla. 4th DCA 2000). “A trial court’s ruling on a motion for temporary injunction is clothed with a presumption of correctness.” Infinity Radio Inc., v. Whitby, 780 So. 2d 248 (Fla. 4th DCA 2001).

This court has recently reviewed an order granting a temporary injunction and reiterated that in order to obtain an injunction a party must show “(1) irreparable harm unless the status quo is maintained; (2) that it has no adequate remedy at law; (3) that it has a substantial likelihood of success on the merits; and (4) that a temporary injunction will serve the public interest.” Net First Nat. Bank, v. First Telebanc Corp., 834 So. 2d 944(Fla. 4th DCA 2003)(quoting Yachting Promotions, Inc., v. Broward Yachts Inc., 792 So. 2d 660 (Fla. 4th DCA 2001)).

Stephan asserts there can be no finding of irreparable harm where there is no continuing threat of injury or any indication that harm will come in the future. We agree.

A temporary injunction is an extraordinary remedy that should be granted sparingly. State v. Beeler, 530 So. 2d 932 (Fla.1988). Where there is no indication the harm is likely to continue in the future, an injunction is not warranted. See Burger King Corp. v. Weaver, 33 F. Supp. 2d 1037, 1039 (S.D.Fla.1998)(“When conduct sought to be enjoined has ceased and is unlikely to resume, federal courts should not grant injunctive relief’).

In response to the argument that this case does not demonstrate any threat of future harm, Faulding points to cases that have held that mere cessation of infringing activity does not necessarily render injunctive relief inappropriate. See, e.g., Clayton v. Howard Johnson Franchise Syst., Inc., 730 F.Supp. 1553 (M.D.Fla.1988). While true, Faulding’s position does not eliminate the need to demonstrate the threat of future harm in order to justify the entry of this extraordinary remedy.

For example, in Clayton, as well as the other cases Faulding relies upon, the facts support a conclusion that the infringing activity is likely to continue. In fact, although Clayton had assured the Howard Johnson company that no future infringing activity would occur, there was a long history of repeated infringing activity and the court concluded that there was “a cognizable danger of future violations.” Id. at 1558. This cannot be said in the case at bar. Not only is there no history of repeated infringing activity on the part of Stephan, there is no basis to conclude that there is a danger of future violations.

In conclusion, there is no indication in the record that the harm or threat of harm, will continue. The court’s order does not identify any potential harm in the future, nor does it conclude this situation is likely to repeat itself. Therefore, we conclude that the conduct Faulding sought to enjoin has ceased, is unlikely to resume, and the injunction was unnecessary. As a result we hold that the trial court abused its discretion in ordering the temporary injunction and we hereby reverse that order. GUNTHER and SHAHOOD, JJ„ concur.


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Citator

Cited By

  • Colucci v. EAR Rare Auto. Grp., Inc., 918 So. 2d 431 (Fla. 4th DCA 2006)
    …iguous, parol evidence nevertheless supported the existence of the amended covenant. The court denied Colucci’s motion. This court reviews temporary injunctions for abuse of discretion. Stephan [*436] Co. v. Faulding Healthcare (IP) Holdings, Inc., 844 So. 2d 676, 678 (Fla. 4th DCA 2003); see Raulerson v. Mitchell, 916 So. 2d 891 (Fla. 4th DCA 2005). The Florida Supreme Court has stated that “[t]he scope of review [of injunctions] is limited. Ás a general rule, trial court orders are clothed with a presumpti…
  • H & M Hearing Assocs., LLC v. Nobile, 950 So. 2d 501 (Fla. 2d DCA 2007)
    …We conclude that H & M’s reliance on Burger King is misplaced because the record here does not establish that Nobile had a prior history of violating the covenant not to compete. Similarly, in Stephan Co. v. Faulding Healthcare (IP) Holdings, Inc., 844 So. 2d 676 (Fla. 4th DCA 2003), the Fourth District distinguished Burger King and reversed the temporary injunction that had been entered against the defendant manufacturer (Stephan). The court recognized “the need to demonstrate the threat of future harm in o…
  • STS Telecom, LLC v. Jacobsen, 901 So. 2d 980 (Fla. 4th DCA 2005)
    …challenged the court’s finding that appellant has an adequate remedy at law. As the lack of an adequate remedy at law is an essential prerequisite to the issuance of a temporary injunction, The Stephan Co. v. Faulding Healthcare (IP) Holdings, Inc., 844 So. 2d 676, 678 (Fla. 4th DCA 2003), appellant has failed to show the court committed reversible error when denying the injunction. Therefore, we affirm the order denying the temporary injunction. WARNER, GROSS and MAY, JJ„ concur.…

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