Civil Procedure
Citing ‘anti-democratic takeover’ by ‘activist’ plaintiffs, Trump seeks money bond for injunction requests
President Donald Trump is directing federal agencies to seek a money bond when plaintiffs file federal lawsuits against the administration that seek temporary restraining orders or preliminary injunctions. (Image from Shutterstock)
President Donald Trump is directing federal agencies to seek a money bond when plaintiffs file federal lawsuits against the administration that seek temporary restraining orders or preliminary injunctions.
“In recent weeks,” Trump said in a March 11 memo, “activist organizations fueled by hundreds of millions of dollars in donations and sometimes even government grants have obtained sweeping injunctions” that meddle in executive policymaking.
“This anti-democratic takeover is orchestrated by forum-shopping organizations that repeatedly bring meritless suits, used for fundraising and political grandstanding, without any repercussions when they fail,” the memo said.
To deter frivolous litigation, Trump said, parties seeking injunctions against the federal government should be required under Rule 65(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure to post security that would cover potential costs and damages from a wrongly issued injunction.
A White House fact sheet said injunctions “can cost taxpayers millions or even billions of dollars, especially when they mandate continued funding.”
Several judges have denied bond requests, including U.S. District Judge Adam B. Abelson of the District of Maryland, according to Bloomberg Law and Law & Crime.
Courts have frequently waived bond requirements “where a fundamental constitutional right is at stake,” Abelson wrote.
U.S. District Judge Loren L. AliKhan of the District of Columbia also denied bond in a challenge to a Trump administration funding freeze, according to Bloomberg Law, Reuters and Law & Crime.
“In a case where the government is alleged to have unlawfully withheld trillions of dollars of previously committed funds to countless recipients, it would defy logic—and contravene the very basis of this opinion—to hold plaintiffs hostage for the resulting harm,” AliKhan said in granting a preliminary injunction to the plaintiffs.
U.S. District Judge Brendan A. Hurson of the District of Maryland also refused to require a bond in a challenge to anti-LGBTQ executive orders, Law.com reports.
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