How has the federal government been successful in appealing from the preliminary injunctions issued under the Personal Injury Prevention Act?

The United States appealed from the district court's orders. In a per curiam opinion, we remanded the case to the district court. See Able v. United States, 44 F.3d 128 (2d Cir.1995) (per curiam). We determined that the district court had applied the wrong standard in deciding to issue the preliminary injunctions. Nonetheless, we stayed the lifting of the preliminary injunctions pending an expedited trial on the merits, to occur within three months of our decision. Id. at 132-33.

On September 22, 1994, while the appeal of the preliminary injunction orders was pending in this court, the district court ruled on the government's motion to dismiss. The district court again rejected the government's exhaustion argument and declined to dismiss the plaintiffs' equal protection, free speech, and expressive association claims. Able v. United States, 863 F.Supp. 112, 114-15 (E.D.N.Y.1994). However, the district court did find in the government's favor that (i) the plaintiffs lacked standing to bring a claim that the Act violates their rights to intimate association and (ii) the Act was not unconstitutionally overbroad or vague. Id. at 115-16. The government sought, and was denied, certification for an immediate appeal. See Able v. United States, 870 F.Supp. 468 (E.D.N.Y.1994).