Salman et al v. Phoenix, City of et al
Filing
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ORDER that Plaintiffs' motion for TRO, (Doc. 91 ), is hereby DENIED. See order for complete details. Signed by Senior Judge James A. Teilborg on 12/21/15. (NKS)
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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA
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Michael Salman, et al.,
Plaintiffs,
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ORDER
v.
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No. CV-12-01219-PHX-JAT
Phoenix, City of, et al.,
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Defendants.
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Pending before the Court is Michael and Suzanne Salman (“Plaintiffs”)s’ motion
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for Temporary Restraining Order (“TRO”) against Defendants’ City of Phoenix, et al.
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(Doc. 91). Plaintiffs seek the Court’s intervention on an emergency basis to “host home
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groups” and hold “bible studies” over Christmas. (Id. at 4).
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The Court is cognizant of the calendar date and acknowledges the importance of
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this time of year to those of faith. At the same time, however, the Court notes that
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Plaintiffs have been aware of the annual “high holiday of their faith,” (Doc. 91 at 4), for
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quite some time, given its fixed position on the calendar. A plaintiff may not circumvent
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the notice requirement by waiting so long to file a motion for TRO that he creates his
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own emergency. See e.g. Martin v. Family Lending Servs., No. 09-CV-2133-PHX-ROS,
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2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 100453, at *3 (D. Ariz. Oct. 15, 2009) (citation omitted) (noting
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that a plaintiff may not create her own emergency to circumvent the notice requirement in
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seeking TRO); Best Deals on TV, Inc. v. Naveed, 2007 WL902564, *4 (N.D. Cal. 2007)
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(noting that a plaintiff cannot show the need for temporary restraining order without
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notice when he waited months after learning of the situation to file the request); Comcast
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of Illinois X, LLC v. Till, 293 F.Supp.2d 936, 938-39 (E.D. Wisc. 2003). By waiting until
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December 21, and seeking to “host home groups” and “have bible studies” during
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Christmas, Plaintiffs have effectively precluded Defendants from filing any kind of
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meaningful response on the issue, and have created their own emergency.1
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Moreover, the Court finds that Plaintiffs have failed to establish that Defendants
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have demonstrated new initiative to prosecute them for their activities. Plaintiffs assert
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that prosecution by Defendants is “real and [imminent].” (Doc. 91 at 4). But the letters
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submitted to the Court are from February 23, May 8, and September 20, 2007,
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respectively. (Id. at 7-11). Plaintiffs assert that Defendants have broken up bible study
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groups at Plaintiffs’ home on two “separate occasions,” but fail to provide any evidence
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of this, or even to provide the Court with specific dates to support their argument that
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prosecution is “imminent.” Taken together, Plaintiffs’ factual basis for TRO is
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insufficient to warrant that the Court intervene on an emergency basis.
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For these reasons, the Court will deny Plaintiffs’ motion for TRO. (Doc. 91). The
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Court will address Plaintiffs’ motion for preliminary injunction, (Doc. 90), when briefing
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has been completed.
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Accordingly,
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Plaintiffs argue that they filed a motion for preliminary injunction on December
7, 2015, and that Defendants have “had ample time to” respond. (Doc. 91 at 4-5). This is
not proper grounds to seek intervention from the Court via TRO. Defendants are still
entitled to file a timely response to Plaintiffs’ motion for preliminary injunction in
accordance with this Court’s rules. See LRCiv 7.2(b); Fed. R. Civ. P. 6(a)(1).
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IT IS ORDERED that Plaintiffs’ motion for TRO, (Doc. 91), is hereby DENIED.
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Dated this 21st day of December, 2015.
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