Universal Injunctions Are Severely Limited, But What About Universal Vacatur?
Abstract
"In Trump v. CASA, Inc., the Supreme Court held, 6 to 3, that federal courts lack the authority to issue universal injunctions if an injunction limited to the plaintiffs in that case will give those plaintiffs all the relief to which they’re entitled. The decision was based on two main conclusions: (1) “A universal injunction can be justified only as an exercise of equitable authority,” and (2) the Judiciary Act of 1789 is the fount of federal courts’ equity jurisdiction and is properly read through the lens of equitable relief available to the English High Court of Chancery at that time, when “[n]either the universal injunction nor any analogous form of relief” was available. Importantly, though, in footnote 4, the Court provided this disclaimer: “Our decision rests solely on the statutory authority that federal courts possess under the Judiciary Act of 1789. We express no view on the Government’s argument that Article III forecloses universal relief.”"
External Links
https://www.yalejreg.com/nc/universal-injunctions-are-severely-limited-but-what-about-universal-vacatur-by-jeffrey-lubbers/
Source Publication
Yale Journal on Regulation
Repository Citation
Jeffrey Lubbers,
Universal Injunctions Are Severely Limited, But What About Universal Vacatur?,
Yale J. on Regul.
(2025).
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/pub_disc_media/654