§ 526.Cases In Which Injunction Granted; Cases In Which Injunction Not Granted

Title 7. Other Provisional Remedies In Civil Actions · Chapter 3. Injunction · Last amended 1994 · Last verified July 28, 2026

In one sentenceSection 526 lists seven situations in which a court may grant an injunction and seven in which it cannot, including a narrow exception letting courts enforce certain highly compensated personal-services contracts against the performer.

Full Text of § 526

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(a) An injunction may be granted in the following cases:

(1) When it appears by the complaint that the plaintiff is entitled to the relief demanded, and the relief, or any part thereof, consists in restraining the commission or continuance of the act complained of, either for a limited period or perpetually.

(2) When it appears by the complaint or affidavits that the commission or continuance of some act during the litigation would produce waste, or great or irreparable injury, to a party to the action.

(3) When it appears, during the litigation, that a party to the action is doing, or threatens, or is about to do, or is procuring or suffering to be done, some act in violation of the rights of another party to the action respecting the subject of the action, and tending to render the judgment ineffectual.

(4) When pecuniary compensation would not afford adequate relief.

(5) Where it would be extremely difficult to ascertain the amount of compensation which would afford adequate relief.

(6) Where the restraint is necessary to prevent a multiplicity of judicial proceedings.

(7) Where the obligation arises from a trust.

(b) An injunction cannot be granted in the following cases:

(1) To stay a judicial proceeding pending at the commencement of the action in which the injunction is demanded, unless the restraint is necessary to prevent a multiplicity of proceedings.

(2) To stay proceedings in a court of the United States.

(3) To stay proceedings in another state upon a judgment of a court of that state.

(4) To prevent the execution of a public statute by officers of the law for the public benefit.

(5) To prevent the breach of a contract the performance of which would not be specifically enforced, other than a contract in writing for the rendition of personal services from one to another where the promised service is of a special, unique, unusual, extraordinary, or intellectual character, which gives it peculiar value, the loss of which cannot be reasonably or adequately compensated in damages in an action at law, and where the compensation for the personal services is as follows:

(A) As to contracts entered into on or before December 31, 1993, the minimum compensation provided in the contract for the personal services shall be at the rate of six thousand dollars ($6,000) per annum.

(B) As to contracts entered into on or after January 1, 1994, the criteria of clause (i) or (ii), as follows, are satisfied:

(i) The compensation is as follows:

(I) The minimum compensation provided in the contract shall be at the rate of nine thousand dollars ($9,000) per annum for the first year of the contract, twelve thousand dollars ($12,000) per annum for the second year of the contract, and fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000) per annum for the third to seventh years, inclusive, of the contract.

(II) In addition, after the third year of the contract, there shall actually have been paid for the services through and including the contract year during which the injunctive relief is sought, over and above the minimum contractual compensation specified in subclause (I), the amount of fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000) per annum during the fourth and fifth years of the contract, and thirty thousand dollars ($30,000) per annum during the sixth and seventh years of the contract. As a condition to petitioning for an injunction, amounts payable under this clause may be paid at any time prior to seeking injunctive relief.

(ii) The aggregate compensation actually received for the services provided under a contract that does not meet the criteria of subparagraph (A), is at least 10 times the applicable aggregate minimum amount specified in subclauses (I) and (II) of clause (i) through and including the contract year during which the injunctive relief is sought. As a condition to petitioning for an injunction, amounts payable under this subparagraph may be paid at any time prior to seeking injunctive relief.

(C) Compensation paid in any contract year in excess of the minimums specified in clauses (i) and (ii) of subparagraph (B) shall apply to reduce the compensation otherwise required to be paid under those provisions in any subsequent contract years. However, an injunction may be granted to prevent the breach of a contract entered into between any nonprofit cooperative corporation or association and a member or stockholder thereof, in respect to any provision regarding the sale or delivery to the corporation or association of the products produced or acquired by the member or stockholder.

(6) To prevent the exercise of a public or private office, in a lawful manner, by the person in possession.

(7) To prevent a legislative act by a municipal corporation.

End

Plain-English Summary

Section 526 draws the line between injunctions courts may grant and injunctions they may not, in two lists. Subdivision (a) lists seven situations that can support an injunction: when the complaint itself shows the plaintiff is entitled to relief that includes restraining the challenged conduct; when continuing the conduct during the lawsuit would cause waste or irreparable injury; when a party is violating another party's rights in a way that would make the eventual judgment meaningless; when money damages would not adequately compensate the harm; when the amount of that compensation would be extremely hard to calculate; when an injunction would prevent a multiplicity of lawsuits; and when the underlying obligation arises from a trust.

Subdivision (b) then lists seven situations where an injunction is off the table, including staying a pending court case, whether state or federal, stopping a public officer from enforcing a statute, or blocking the exercise of a public or private office by whoever currently holds it. The most detailed of these bars personal-services contracts: courts generally will not order someone to keep working for another under threat of contempt. But the statute carves out unique, highly compensated personal services — entertainers and similar figures under contracts meeting specific, escalating minimum-pay thresholds tied to when the contract was signed — where a court may still enjoin the person from working for a competitor during the contract term.

Because § 526 supplies the substantive grounds, it works alongside § 527, which handles the procedure for obtaining a preliminary injunction or temporary restraining order once one of these grounds applies.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the general grounds for getting an injunction in California?

Section 526(a) lists seven, including that the complaint shows the plaintiff is entitled to relief that includes restraining the conduct, that continuing the conduct would cause waste or irreparable injury, and that money damages would not adequately compensate the harm.

Can a court order someone to keep working under a personal-services contract?

Generally no. Section 526(b)(5) bars injunctions enforcing personal-services contracts, with a narrow exception for contracts involving unique, high-value personal services that meet specific minimum-compensation thresholds.

Can a court stop a government agency from enforcing a law while a lawsuit is pending?

No. Section 526(b)(4) bars an injunction that would prevent a public officer from executing a public statute for the public benefit.

Can an injunction stop another lawsuit that's already pending?

Not usually. Section 526(b)(1) and (b)(2) bar staying a pending state or federal court proceeding, unless the restraint is necessary to prevent a multiplicity of proceedings.

Amendment History

Amended by Stats. 1993, Ch. 836, Sec. 2. Effective January 1, 1994.

Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from the California Legislative Information. Enacted by the California Legislature. Last verified July 28, 2026. · Official source

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