Opinion By Justice FILLMORE.
This is an accelerated interlocutory appeal of the trial court's order granting a temporary injunction. In a single issue, appellant El Tacaso, Inc. (El Tacaso) contends the trial court abused its discretion in granting the temporary injunction because appellees Jireh Star, Inc. (Jireh Star) and Aaron Kim (Kim) did not prove an imminent threat of irreparable harm, the temporary injunction altered the status quo of the subject matter of the suit, the trial court exceeded its jurisdiction, the temporary injunction fails to comply with Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 683 and is void on its face, and the temporary injunction is vague and overly broad. We conclude the temporary injunction is void because it does not comply with the mandatory requirements of rule of civil procedure 683. We reverse the trial court's order granting the temporary injunction, dissolve the temporary injunction, and remand the case to the trial court for further proceedings.
El Tacaso owns real property located on Harry Hines Boulevard in Dallas, Texas, where it operated a restaurant under the name of "Gordita's." In April 2007, Jireh Star entered into two agreements with El Tacaso regarding the continued operation of Gordita's: a Lease Agreement (the Lease) for lease to Jireh Star of the real property on which Gordita's is located and a License Agreement (the License) permitting Jireh Star to operate Gordita's for a period of twelve months. Kim, president of Jireh Star, executed a written addendum to the Lease personally guaranteeing performance of the Lease.
The License contained an option to extend its initial twelve-month term, so long as the Lease remained in force. In order to exercise the option to extend the License term, Jireh Star was required to pay El Tacaso "a one-time fee of $158,000." In early 2008, Jireh Star decided to exercise its option to extend the License term and executed a Promissory Note agreeing to pay El Tacaso the one-time License fee of $158,000 over forty-eight months with interest. An additional term of the Promissory Note was a cross-default provision that a default by Jireh Star under the Promissory Note would be considered a default under both the Lease and the License.
El Tacaso filed suit against Jireh Star and Kim alleging appellees defaulted under the Promissory Note and, therefore, had breached the Lease. Jireh Star filed counterclaims of fraud, violations of the Deceptive Trade Practices-Consumer Protection Act (DTPA),
The trial court granted a temporary injunction in favor of Jireh Star. El Tacaso filed this interlocutory appeal, contending the trial court abused its discretion by entering the temporary injunction order. See TEX. CIV. PRAC. & REM.CODE ANN. § 51.014(a)(4) (West 2008) (order granting or denying a temporary injunction is an appealable interlocutory order); see also In re Tex. Natural Res. Conservation Comm'n, 85 S.W.3d 201, 205 (Tex.2002) (orig. proceeding).
The purpose of a temporary injunction is to preserve the status quo of the subject matter of a suit pending a trial on the merits. Butnaru v. Ford Motor Co., 84 S.W.3d 198, 204 (Tex.2002). A party asking for a temporary injunction seeks extraordinary equitable relief. Wilson N. Jones Mem'l Hosp. v. Huff, 188 S.W.3d 215, 218 (Tex.App.-Dallas 2003, pet. denied). The extraordinary equitable remedy of an injunction must be carefully regulated and confined to proper cases. See Associated Gen. Contractors of Tex., Inc. v. City of El Paso, 932 S.W.2d 124, 126 (Tex.App.-El Paso 1996, no pet.); Raine v. Searles, 302 S.W.2d 486, 487 (Tex. Civ.App.-El Paso 1957, no writ); see also Camp v. Shannon, 162 Tex. 515, 348 S.W.2d 517, 519 (1961).
To be entitled to a temporary injunction, an applicant must plead and prove three specific elements: (1) a cause of action against the defendant; (2) a probable right to the relief sought; and (3) a probable, imminent, and irreparable injury in the interim. Butnaru, 84 S.W.3d at 204; see TEX. CIV. PRAC. & REM.CODE ANN. § 65.011 (West 2008). "Probable injury" includes the elements of imminent harm, irreparable injury, and no adequate remedy at law. Univ. of Tex. Med. School v. Than, 834 S.W.2d 425, 428 (Tex.App.-Houston [1st Dist.] 1992, no writ). For purposes of a temporary injunction, an injury is irreparable if the injured party cannot be adequately compensated in damages or if the damages cannot be measured by any certain pecuniary standard. Butnaru, 84 S.W.3d at 204; Huff, 188 S.W.3d at 218; see also Tex. Indus. Gas v. Phoenix Metallurgical Corp., 828 S.W.2d 529, 533 (Tex.App.-Houston [1st Dist.]
In relevant part, rule of civil procedure 683 requires every order granting a temporary injunction to state the reasons for its issuance, be specific in terms, and describe in reasonable detail and not by reference to the complaint or other document, the act or acts sought to be restrained. TEX.R. CIV. P. 683; Lifeguard Benefit Servs., Inc. v. Direct Med. Network Solutions, Inc., 308 S.W.3d 102, 116 (Tex.App.-Fort Worth 2010, no pet.). "[T]he obvious purpose of [rule 683] is to adequately inform a party of what he is enjoined from doing and the reason why he is so enjoined." Schulz v. Schulz, 478 S.W.2d 239, 244-45 (Tex.Civ.App.-Dallas 1972, no writ); see also Bd. of Equalization of the City of Plano v. Wells, 473 S.W.2d 88, 91 (Tex.Civ. App.-Dallas 1971, no writ).
A trial court's order stating its reasons for granting a temporary injunction must be specific and legally sufficient on its face and not merely conclusory. See TEX.R. CIV. P. 683 (order "shall be specific in terms"); see also State v. Cook United, Inc., 464 S.W.2d 105, 106 (Tex.1971); San Antonio Bar Ass'n v. Guardian Abstract & Title Co., 156 Tex. 7, 291 S.W.2d 697, 702 (1956) (quoting Villalobos v. Holguin, 146 Tex. 474, 208 S.W.2d 871, 875 (1948)) (law in Texas regarding the specificity of temporary injunctions is that they must be "as definite, clear and precise as possible"); Charter Med. Corp. v. Miller, 547 S.W.2d 77, 78 (Tex.Civ.App.-Dallas 1977, no writ); Vaughn v. Drennon, 202 S.W.3d 308, 316 (Tex.App.-Tyler 2006, no pet.) (injunction must be definite, clear, and concise, leaving the person enjoined in no doubt about his duties, and should not be such as would call on person enjoined for interpretations, inferences, or conclusions); Arkoma Basin Exploration Co. v. FMF Assocs. 1990-A, Ltd., 249 S.W.3d 380, 389 n. 32 (Tex.2008) ("conclusory" is defined as "[e]xpressing a factual inference without stating the underlying facts on which the inference is based") (citing BLACK'S LAW DICTIONARY 308 (8th ed. 2004)). To comply with rule 683, a trial court must set out in the temporary injunction order the reasons the court deems it proper to issue the injunction, including the reasons why the applicant will suffer injury if the injunctive relief is not ordered. Cook United, Inc., 464 S.W.2d at 106; see also City of Corpus Christi v. Friends of the Coliseum, 311 S.W.3d 706, 708 (Tex.App.-Corpus Christi 2010, no pet.) ("When a temporary injunction is based in part on a showing that the applicant would suffer irreparable harm if the injunction is not issued, Rule 683 requires the order to state precisely why the applicant would suffer irreparable harm.") (emphasis in original)); Byrd Ranch, Inc. v. Interwest Sav. Ass'n, 717 S.W.2d 452, 454 (Tex.App.-Fort Worth 1986, no writ) (necessary for the trial court to give the reasons why injury will be suffered if the temporary relief is not ordered); cf. In re Office of Attorney Gen., 257 S.W.3d 695, 697 (Tex.2008) (orig. proceeding) (per curiam) (temporary restraining orders that did not meet requirements of rule of civil procedure 680 that such orders "define injury they were designed to prevent" and "explain why such injury would be irreparable"
The requirements of rule of civil procedure 683 are mandatory and must be strictly followed. Qwest Commc'ns Corp. v. AT & T Corp., 24 S.W.3d 334, 337 (Tex.2000) (per curiam); Indep. Capital Mgmt, L.L.C. v. Collins, 261 S.W.3d 792, 795 (Tex.App.-Dallas 2008, no pet.). Even if a sound reason for granting relief appears elsewhere in the record, the Texas Supreme Court has stated in the strongest terms that rule of civil procedure 683 is mandatory. See Cook United, Inc., 464 S.W.2d at 107 (Calvert, J., concurring) ("The requirement in Rule 683 that the reasons for issuing an injunction be stated in the order could hardly be couched in stronger language. It is mandatory."). If a temporary injunction order fails to comply with the mandatory requirements of rule of civil procedure 683, it is void. Qwest Commc'ns Corp., 24 S.W.3d at 337; Collins, 261 S.W.3d at 795 (trial court abuses its discretion by issuing temporary injunction order that does not comply with requirements of rule 683); see also Courtlandt Place Historical Found. v. Doerner, 768 S.W.2d 924, 926 (Tex.App.-Houston [1st Dist.] 1989, no writ) (injunction order that fails to comply with requirements of rule of civil procedure 683 is subject to being declared void and dissolved) (citing InterFirst Bank San Felipe, 715 S.W.2d at 641).
In a single issue, El Tacaso contends the trial court abused its discretion in granting the temporary injunction. We first consider El Tacaso's argument the trial court abused its discretion because the temporary injunction order fails to comply with rule of civil procedure 683 and is void on its face.
Here, the trial court included the following "findings"
The trial court's temporary injunction order also contains the following paragraphs:
Jireh Star argues that the trial court's order restraining El Tacaso's interference with Jireh Star's "quiet enjoyment" of the leasehold is sufficiently detailed to meet the requirements of rule of civil procedure 683. We disagree. See Cook United, Inc., 464 S.W.2d at 108 (McGee, J., dissenting) ("If this Court desires to grant an exception to [rule 683], to the effect that the reason for issuance of the temporary injunction need not be stated, it should be
Specifically, the trial court's order does not state or explain the probable, imminent, and irreparable harm Jireh Star will suffer absent an injunction. See id.; see also Qwest Commc'ns Corp., 24 S.W.3d at 337; InterFirst Bank San Felipe, 715 S.W.2d at 641; Fasken v. Darby, 901 S.W.2d 591, 593 (Tex.App.-El Paso 1995, no writ) (because probable injury subsumes the elements of irreparable injury and no adequate remedy at law, a valid injunction must articulate the reasons why the identified probable injury is an irreparable one for which appellees have no adequate legal remedy). The trial court's temporary injunction order simply recites the conclusory statement that Jireh Star has shown that it will suffer an irreparable injury for which it has no other adequate legal remedy.
Each case in which a temporary injunction is sought presents a unique set of facts; accordingly, the nature and extent of a trial court's description of the
We reverse the trial court's order granting temporary injunctive relief, dissolve the temporary injunction, and remand the case to the trial court for further proceedings.