Receiving a commercial injunction can feel like the ground has shifted beneath your business overnight. An injunction is a court order that either compels you to take a specific action or, more commonly, prohibits you from doing something, often with immediate effect. If you are facing one, the time pressure is real and the consequences of getting your response wrong are serious.
This article explains what a commercial injunction is, how to defend against one, and what practical steps you should take from the moment you are served. If you are already in this position, our dispute resolution team can provide urgent, commercially focused support.
What is a commercial injunction?
A commercial injunction is a court order granted in a business context, typically to prevent one party from acting in a way that could cause harm to another before a full trial takes place. Courts can grant injunctions at speed, and in some cases without notifying the other side at all.
Injunctions are not just a legal inconvenience. They can prevent you from trading, freeze your assets, or require you to take immediate steps that disrupt your operations. Understanding exactly what you are facing is the essential first step.
Types of commercial injunction
The type of injunction you have been served with affects how you respond. The most common types include:
- Prohibitory injunctions: Order you to stop doing something, such as breaching a contract or contacting the applicant’s customers
- Mandatory injunctions: Compel you to take a positive action; courts are reluctant to grant these as they are more intrusive
- Freezing injunctions: Prevent you from disposing of or moving assets, sometimes on a worldwide basis
- Search orders: Allow the applicant to enter your premises and preserve evidence; granted only in exceptional circumstances
- Interim injunctions: Temporary orders made pending a full trial
- Final injunctions: Permanent orders made following a concluded trial
Most commercial disputes involve interim injunctions, which are the focus of this guide.
What to do immediately when you receive an injunction
Time is critical. If you have been served with a court order, the first rule is simple: comply. Breaching an injunction, even unintentionally, can constitute contempt of court and result in serious consequences, including fines and, in extreme cases, committal to prison.
Beyond compliance, your immediate priorities are:
- Instruct a solicitor with commercial litigation experience as quickly as possible
- Read the order carefully and note every deadline it imposes
- Preserve all relevant documents and communications
- Do not destroy evidence or take any action that could be seen as circumventing the order
- Notify the right people internally so that the order is not inadvertently breached
In many cases, there will be an early hearing at which you can challenge the injunction. Preparation for that hearing begins immediately.
Key defences when defending an injunction
A court granting an interim injunction applies a two-stage test, derived from the principles set out in American Cyanamid Co v Ethicon Ltd [1975]. First, the applicant must show there is a serious issue to be tried. Second, the court considers where the balance of convenience lies, meaning which outcome would cause more harm if the court gets it wrong.
Your defence should address both stages. Common grounds for defending an injunction include:
Challenging the serious issue to be tried
If the applicant’s underlying claim is weak, you can argue there is no serious issue to be tried. This requires a detailed review of the merits of their case and the evidence they have presented.
Attacking the balance of convenience
Even where a serious issue exists, courts will not grant an injunction if the harm to your business outweighs the harm to the applicant. Demonstrating the commercial impact on your operations, your employees, or your customers can be powerful here.
Arguing damages are an adequate remedy
If the applicant can be adequately compensated by money rather than an injunction, the court may refuse the order. This argument is especially relevant where the alleged harm can be quantified and the applicant’s losses, if any, are financial rather than irreparable.
Material non-disclosure
Injunctions obtained without notice (meaning you were not informed before they were granted) require the applicant to disclose all relevant facts to the court, including those that may undermine their application. If they have failed to do so, you can apply to have the order set aside on this basis alone.
Delay by the applicant
If the applicant was aware of the conduct they are complaining about for some time before applying, that delay can undermine their case. Courts expect applicants to act promptly.
Unclean hands
Where the applicant has themselves acted improperly, unreasonably, or in bad faith in connection with the matter, a court may decline to grant or continue an injunction in their favour.
Applying to set aside an injunction
If an injunction has already been granted, you can apply to set it aside or vary its terms. This application should be made promptly and supported by detailed witness evidence addressing each element of the original test. The grounds most commonly relied upon include material non-disclosure, a weak underlying claim, an unfavourable balance of convenience for the applicant, unreasonable delay, or changed circumstances since the order was made.
Strategic alternatives to outright resistance
Defending an injunction through full litigation is not always the right answer. Depending on the circumstances, you may achieve a better commercial outcome by:
- Complying with the order while simultaneously challenging it in court
- Negotiating revised or narrower terms directly with the applicant
- Pursuing mediation or another form of alternative dispute resolution
- Seeking an expedited trial so the underlying dispute is resolved quickly rather than left running
Each of these options carries its own risks and benefits. The right strategy depends on the strength of your position, the commercial stakes, and the nature of the relationship with the other party.
How Ignition Law can help
Defending an injunction is high-stakes work that requires both legal precision and commercial judgment. At Ignition Law, our dispute resolution team works with businesses of all sizes to respond to urgent injunction applications, challenge orders already granted, and navigate the strategic decisions that follow.
As a B Corp law firm built for modern businesses, we combine ex-City legal experience with a genuinely entrepreneurial perspective. We understand that injunctions do not arrive at convenient moments, and we are set up to respond at speed.
If you are facing a commercial injunction or anticipate that one may be sought against you, contact Ignition Law today for clear, practical advice tailored to your situation.
