CONSIDERATIONS FOR INTERLOCUTORY INJUNCTION

In American Cyanamid v. Erhicon Ltd. (1975) A.C. 396 made the following remarks on pp. 408H-409C thereof: “Save in the simplest cases, the decision to grant or to refuse an interlocutory injunction will cause to whichever party is unsuccessful on the application some disadvantages which his ultimate success at the trial may show he ought to have been spared and the disadvantages may be such that the recovery of damages to which he would then be entitled either in the action or under the plaintiff’s undertaking would not be sufficient to compensate him fully for all of them. The extent to which the disadvantages to each party would be incapable of being compensated in damages in the event If his succeeding at the trial is always a significant factor in assessing where the balance of convenience lies .. and if the extent of the uncompensatable disadvantage to each party would not differ widely, it may not be improper to take into account in tipping the balance the relative strength of each party’s case as revealed by the affidavit evidence adduced on the hearing of the application. This, however, should be done only where it is apparent upon the facts disclosed by evidence as to which there is no credible dispute that the strength of one party’s case is disproportionate to that of the other party. The Court is not justified to embark upon anything resembling a trial of the action upon conflicting affidavits in order to evaluate the strength of either party’s case. I would reiterate that, in addition to those to which I have referred, there may be many other special factors to be taken into consideration in the particular circumstances of individual cases.”