Court holds preliminary injunction in divorce action does not indefinitely prevent later actions by party

Apparently Linda McCormick has a long history of litigious behavior.  At some point, during a divorce action, the trial judge entered a preliminary injunction preventing her from filing future lawsuits without the Court's advance approval.  So far as the record shows, this preliminary injunction was never made permanent or incorporated into a final judgment of divorce.  Nevertheless, when McCormick sued several insurers and others, alleging wrongful management of an insurance claim, the defendants argued that her case must be dismissed because of the existence of this preliminary injunction. 

The trial court agreed with the defendants, however, the Court of Appeals reluctantly overturned the Circuit Court's decision.  It pointed out that a preliminary injunction is a temporary order intended to maintain the status quo for a brief period--normally six months--until matters can be addressed on a permanent basis with proper notice and due process.  Absent proof of a hearing rendering the injunction permanent or incorporating it into a final judgment, the injunction expired with the underlying lawsuit.