Not Immediate Injury

An unusual TRO challenge, involving a high-school transcript, and in which no response was filed to the challenger’s mandamus petition, produced several reminders about the requirements of Tex. R. Civ. P. 683 – including the required statement of irreparable injury:

The TRO simply states that the Chens have shown an irreparable injury because Jeffrey may be denied college admission, while also alleging that he had been denied admission to a number of schools. An irreparable injury, however, must be immediate “and not merely an injury that may arise at some point in the future.”  That Jeffrey may be denied admission to unnamed colleges and universities to which he has applied or may apply in the future does not evince immediacy, particularly when the Chens alleged the same imminent harm when they initiated the action in 2022. … There is no identification of pending admission decisions, planned or outstanding applications to any particular institutions, or the deadlines that may apply.

In re St. Mark’s School of Texas, No. 05-23-00369-CV (May 3, 2023) (mem.op.) (citation omitted and emphasis added).