Short answer. Yes, as a rule. A preliminary injunction or temporary restraining order may be granted only if, unless exempted by the court, the applicant files a bond in an amount the court fixes, answering for all damages the enjoined party may sustain if the court finally decides the applicant was not entitled to the restraint.
What the law says
the applicant will pay to such party or person all damages which he may sustain by reason of the injunction or temporary restraining order if the court should finally decide that the applicant was not entitled thereto
Rule 58, Section 4 — Verified application and bond for preliminary injunction or temporary restraining order. Read the full provision →
What the law says
Upon approval of the requisite bond, a writ of preliminary injunction shall be issued.
Rule 58, Section 4 — Verified application and bond for preliminary injunction or temporary restraining order. Read the full provision →
The bond is a condition, not a formality
Rule 58 makes the bond one of the gates to injunctive relief: a preliminary injunction or temporary restraining order may be granted only when, unless exempted by the court, the applicant files a bond executed to the party to be enjoined, in an amount to be fixed by the court. The sequence in the rule is strict — upon approval of the requisite bond, a writ of preliminary injunction shall be issued. No approved bond, no writ. The exemption clause exists, but it is the court's to grant, not the applicant's to assume.
What the bond is for
The bond is the enjoined party's protection. It undertakes that the applicant will pay to such party or person all damages which he may sustain by reason of the injunction or temporary restraining order if the court should finally decide that the applicant was not entitled thereto. An injunction stops someone's project, sale, or operations before the case is decided — on a claim that may ultimately fail. The bond makes the applicant stand behind that gamble with money, which is also why courts fix the amount with the opponent's likely losses in view. Asking to restrain someone is asking to be financially answerable for being wrong.
The bond is not the only requirement
Before the bond even matters, the application itself must qualify: it must be verified, and must show facts entitling the applicant to the relief demanded. A bare, unsworn allegation of injury will not do. The rule then layers on protections for the other side — where the application comes with a complaint in a multiple-sala court, the raffle happens only after notice to and in the presence of the adverse party, accompanied by service of summons, the pleading, the affidavit and the bond; and a temporary restraining order is acted upon only after all parties are heard in a summary hearing. Restraint of a litigant is deliberately made hard to obtain quietly.
Budgeting for an injunction case
Treat the bond as part of the cost of the remedy from day one. Since the amount is fixed by the court case by case, discuss with counsel a realistic range given what your opponent stands to lose while restrained, and how you will post it — the writ waits on the bond's approval, and delay in posting is delay in protection. Be ready, too, for the merits question the verified application must answer: what right of yours is being violated, and what facts show it. The bond buys the court's willingness to act early; the facts must justify it.