Court Refusal to Grant a Permanent Injunction Appeal In California

An order refusing to grant a permanent injunction is not appealable unless and until it is embodied in a final judgment. (Art Movers, Inc. v. Ni West, Inc. (1992) 3 Cal. App. 4th 640, 645-651 4 Cal. Rptr. 2d 689; McCarty v. Macy & Co. (1957) 153 Cal. App. 2d 837, 839-841 315 P.2d 383; Eisenberg et al., Cal. Practice Guide: Civil Appeals and Writs (The Rutter Group 1999) PP 2:128.1, 2:129, pp. 2-58 to 2-59; Cal. Civil Appellate Practice (Cont.Ed.Bar 3d ed. 2000) 3.36, p. 141; See also Morehart v. County of Santa Barbara (1994) 7 Cal. 4th 725, 735, 740-741 29 Cal. Rptr. 2d 804, 872 P.2d 143.) The rationale for this rule is not entirely clear. One court has reasoned that a preliminary injunction requires an exception to the final judgment rule because it cannot be reviewed in an appeal from the final judgment. "A plaintiff denied permanent injunctive relief, on the other hand, suffers no immediate harm, and the denial of injunctive relief may be more easily reviewed in conjunction with the final judgment." (Art Movers, Inc. v. Ni West, Inc., supra, 3 Cal. App. 4th at p. 647 Second Dist., Div. Five.) A second court has reasoned that there is a nonstatutory one-final-judgment rule, which gives an appellate court discretion to refuse to hear an appeal, even from a statutorily appealable order, except when "inflexible application of the nonstatutory rule would produce inutility or hardship." (Guntert v. City of Stockton (1974) 43 Cal. App. 3d 203, 208 117 Cal. Rptr. 601 Third Dist..) Yet a third court has held that an interlocutory order granting a permanent injunction is appealable because it is sufficiently final; it agreed, however, that an interlocutory order denying a permanent injunction should not be appealable, because the denial itself cannot be said to be final until the eventual entry of a final judgment. (Western Electroplating Co. v. Henness (1959) 172 Cal. App. 2d 278, 282-284 341 P.2d 718 Second Dist., Div. One; see also Brown v. Memorial Nat. Home Foundation (1958) 158 Cal. App. 2d 448, 457 322 P.2d 600, 72 A.L.R.2d 997 Second Dist., Div. Two.)