The Dorothy Marshall Living Trust filed a class action complaint against the prominent tax collection law firm Linebarger Goggan Blair & Sampson LLP along with multiple individuals and state actors. The lawsuit included an embedded request for emergency relief in the form of a temporary restraining order, though the nature of the underlying dispute was not detailed in the magistrate judge's order.
Judge Horan found fatal procedural defects in the TRO application, noting that none of the defendants had been properly served with the lawsuit. "At this time, no Defendant has been served; as such, this is an ex parte application for a TRO," the judge wrote, citing precedent that such notice failures alone justify denial of emergency relief requests.
The case was originally assigned to U.S. District Judge Sam A. Lindsay, who referred the matter to Judge Horan for pretrial management under federal magistrate judge authority. The trust's lawyers had attempted to seek the restraining order through the initial complaint filing rather than through a separate, properly supported motion.
Judge Horan left the door open for the plaintiffs to seek emergency relief in the future, writing that the trust "remain[s] free to file a properly supported standalone motion should they seek a TRO at this time." The ruling demonstrates the strict procedural requirements courts impose on requests for extraordinary relief like temporary restraining orders.