Civil Practice: Injunctive relief not barred by dec judgment action

Where a litigant is otherwise entitled to injunctive relief, the fact that a declaratory judgment action is pending does not prevent a circuit court from awarding that relief. The statute only precludes injunctive relief when the only basis for the injunction is the mere fact that a declaratory judgment action is pending.

Background

Ryan Leggett, Bethany Johnson and Eric Piedra appeal the circuit court’s order denying their request for an injunction in their ongoing dispute with The Sanctuary at False Cape Condominium Association Inc. and its board of directors. Petitioners sought declaratory judgments that (1) certain Board members were properly elected members of the Board; (2) the Board has failed to properly approve the annual budget since 2018; (3) the Board failed to comply with the unit owners’ request for information; (4) the Board improperly approved a special assessment in contravention of the by-laws and (5) the Board has, in contravention of the by-laws, failed to call a special meeting requested by the unit owners.

The petitioners sought an injunction, seeking to have the association honor their petition for a special meeting and schedule such a meeting so that the unit owners can vote to repeal the special assessment. The circuit court held that Code § 8.01-189 did not permit the circuit court to grant an injunction during the pendency of a declaratory judgment action.

Analysis

Code § 8.01-189 provides that “[t]he pendency of any action at law or suit in equity brought merely to obtain a declaration of rights or a determination of a question of construction shall not be sufficient grounds for the granting of any injunction.” The statute’s first sentence refers to “[t]he pendency of any action at law or suit in equity[,]” i.e., the fact of a suit’s existence.

It then limits the types of suits to which it refers, explicitly limiting the statute’s scope to those suits “brought merely to obtain a declaration of rights or a determination of a question of construction[.]” Then the statute makes clear that the pendency of such suits does not, without more, provide a basis for injunctive relief. Specifically, Code § 8.01-189 provides that such suits are “not … sufficient grounds for the granting of any injunction.”

Missing from Code § 8.01-189 is any language that suggests that injunctive relief to which a litigant otherwise would be entitled is precluded if that litigant also has filed a declaratory judgment action. Given a circuit court’s statutory and common law authority to award injunctions in appropriate circumstances, the lack of such specific language is dispositive of the question. Absent a clear manifestation by the General Assembly of an intention to abrogate the circuit court’s ability to grant an injunction, the circuit court’s power to do so remains intact.

As a result, the statute does not preclude a circuit court from granting injunctive relief while a declaratory judgment action is pending. Rather, it precludes injunctive relief if the only basis for the injunction is the mere fact that a declaratory judgment action is pending. Thus, if a litigant is otherwise entitled to injunctive relief, the fact that a declaratory judgment action is pending does not prevent a circuit court from awarding that relief, and the circuit court abused its discretion in holding otherwise.

Although the text of the statute provides ample support for the court’s conclusion, the court notes that respected legal commentators, in the absence of a definitive interpretation from this court, have reached the same conclusion regarding the meaning of Code § 8.01-189. Accordingly, the circuit court committed reversible error because it determined that Code § 8.01-189 precluded it from even considering whether to issue an injunction in this case. Because the circuit court did not address the merits of petitioners’ request for injunctive relief, the court does not express any opinion on the merits of that request.

Reversed and remanded.

Leggett v. The Sanctuary at False Cape Condominium Association Inc., Record No. 240270, May 2, 2024. From the Circuit Court of Virginia Beach. VLW 024-6-017. 6 pp.