Background
Four members of the Maixner family leased campsites at Stump Lake Park for many years. After the family criticized the Nelson County Park Board at a meeting, the Board voted not to renew their leases. The Maixners sued under Section nineteen eighty-three of Title forty-two of the United States Code, alleging First Amendment retaliation. The district court granted a preliminary injunction, presuming irreparable harm based on the First Amendment claim.
The court’s reasoning
The court explained that while the loss of First Amendment freedoms can constitute irreparable harm, that principle applies when freedoms are immediately threatened or impaired. In this case, the Maixners sought damages for lease non-renewal and did not claim an immediate threat to their right to speak. The court held that the loss of a campsite lease is adequately remedied by monetary compensation and does not satisfy the legal standard for irreparable harm.
The loss of a summer campsite lease does not satisfy the legal standard of irreparable harm.
Maixner v. Nelson County Park Board, 25-2101 (8th Cir. July 15, 2026)
What it means going forward
The decision clarifies that plaintiffs alleging First Amendment retaliation must prove specific, non-monetary irreparable harm to obtain a preliminary injunction, rather than relying on a presumption of harm.