State Funded Services

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: D.U. v. Kitty Rhoades et al

Case No.: 15-1243

Officials: WOOD,Chief Judge, andPOSNER and ROVNER, Circuit Judges.

Focus: State Funded Services

Appellant failed to demonstrate that she would suffer irreparable harm if injunction preventing reduction of hours for private duty nurse to provide appellant with care, not granted.

“Because money damages could make D.U. whole again should she prevail in her lawsuit, she does not meet the standard for irreparable harm. Girl Scouts, 549 F.3d at 1095 (a party seeking a preliminary injunction must demonstrate, among other things, that traditional legal remedies, such as money damages, would be inadequate). See also Sampson v. Murray, 415 U.S. 61, 90 (1974) (noting that “[m]ere injuries, however substantial, in terms of money, time and energy necessarily expended in the absence of a stay, are not enough” to demonstrate irreparable harm and that the “possibility that adequate compensatory or other corrective relief will be available at a later date, in the ordinary course of litigation, weighs heavily against a claim of irreparable harm.”). At oral argument, D.U.’s attorney asserted that there was no mechanism in Wisconsin law for obtaining a refund of the money expended on skilled nursing. But if D.U. prevails on the merits of her suit, a federal court order will provide the only process required. Because D.U. failed to demonstrate irreparable harm, the district court did not err in denying the preliminary injunction.”

Affirmed

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Attorney Derek A. Hawkins is the managing partner at Hawkins Law Offices LLC, where he heads up the firm’s startup law practice. He specializes in business formation, corporate governance, intellectual property protection, private equity and venture capital funding and mergers & acquisitions. Check out the website at www.hawkins-lawoffices.com or contact them at 262-737-8825.