8th Circuit vacated a preliminary injunction protecting a family's campsite leases, ruling they failed to…
Loralyn Maixner v. Harold Eidsness
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8th Circuit vacated a preliminary injunction protecting a family's campsite leases, ruling they failed to show irreparable harm even though their First Amendment retaliation claim looked likely to succeed.
Why it matters
The Eighth Circuit vacated a preliminary injunction that had prevented a North Dakota county park board from evicting the Maixner family from their campsite leases after the family spoke critically at a board meeting. The appeals court held that even when a First Amendment retaliation claim appears likely to succeed, a court must still conduct a separate inquiry into whether the plaintiffs face likely irreparable harm before granting preliminary injunctive relief. Because the Maixners sought substantial monetary damages and the record did not show harm that could not be remedied by a final judgment, the court found the irreparable harm requirement was not met.
Who it affects
This ruling directly affects the Maixner family, who must now proceed to a full trial without the protection of a preliminary injunction blocking their eviction from the campsites. More broadly, it signals to courts in the Eighth Circuit that plaintiffs bringing First Amendment retaliation claims must still demonstrate specific irreparable harm to obtain preliminary injunctive relief, and cannot rely solely on a strong likelihood of success on the merits.
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Decision issued Jul 15, 2026
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Jul 15, 2026 · Published opinion
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The Maixner family had leased campsites at Stump Lake Park Campground in North Dakota for as many as 27 consecutive years. After family members criticized the Nelson County Park Board at a September 2024 meeting, including comments about misuse of park funding and bad management decisions, the Board voted the following month not to renew their leases. The Maixners sued under a federal civil rights law, alleging the non-renewal was retaliation for their speech in violation of the First Amendment, and they asked for both $450,000 in damages and a court order blocking their eviction. The district court granted a preliminary injunction, reasoning that because the Maixners showed a likelihood of success on their First Amendment claim, the other requirements for a preliminary injunction, including irreparable harm, could be presumed satisfied. The Board appealed. The Eighth Circuit disagreed with that approach. A party seeking a preliminary injunction must independently show that it is likely to suffer irreparable harm, meaning harm that cannot be fully compensated through a damages award later. The appeals court acknowledged the well-established legal principle, endorsed by the Supreme Court, that loss of First Amendment freedoms can constitute irreparable injury. However, the court emphasized that this principle applies when First Amendment interests are actually threatened or being impaired at the time relief is sought. Not every First Amendment claim automatically triggers that presumption. In this case, the Maixners' central complaint was that they lost their campsite leases, and they were already seeking $450,000 in monetary damages to compensate for that loss. The court found the record insufficient to support a finding of likely irreparable harm that could not be addressed in a final judgment on the merits. Because failure to show irreparable harm is independently enough to deny a preliminary injunction, the court vacated the district court's order without ruling on the ultimate merits of the retaliation claim.
CITATION AND RECORD
Record source: CourtListener
United States Court of Appeals For the Eighth Circuit ___________________________ No. 25-2101 ___________________________ Loralyn Maixner; Wayne Maixner; Ron Maixner; Alane Maixner, lllllllllllllllllllllPlaintiffs - Appellees, v. Harold Eidsness; Cody Johnson; Aaron Mork; Doug Flaagan; Michael Haugland; Cameron Swenson; Nathan Parks; Jayme Jo Tenneson; Steve Forde; Nelson County Park Board, The, a Political Subdivision of the State of North Dakota; Dennis Fahey, lllllllllllllllllllllDefendants - Appellants. ____________ Appeal from United States District Court for the District of North Dakota - Eastern ____________ Submitted: March 19, 2026 Filed: July 15, 2026 [Published] ____________ Before COLLOTON, Chief Judge, GRUENDER and KOBES, Circuit Judges. ____________ PER CURIAM. Four members of the Maixner family in North Dakota have leased campsites at the Stump Lake Park Campground for many years. In November 2024, the Nelson County Park Board voted not to renew the Maixners’ lease contracts. The Maixners sued the Board under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging that the non-renewal decision was retaliation for speech at a park board meeting. The Maixners sought monetary damages and injunctive relief. The district court concluded that the Maixners established a likelihood of success on their First Amendment claim and preliminarily enjoined the Board from evicting the Maixners from their campsites. We conclude that the Maixners have not shown likely irreparable harm arising from the Board’s decision that would justify a preliminary injunction before the case is resolved on the merits. We therefore vacate the district court’s order. I. The Maixners for many years have leased the same lots at Stump Lake Park under renewable one-year leases with the Nelson County Park Board, a political subdivision of the State of North Dakota. Two have leased for twenty-seven consecutive years; two have leased for eleven. During a September 2024 park board meeting, the Maixners commented on alleged problems with the park facilities, the purported misuse of park funding, and the Board’s failure to communicate with lessees. Alane Maixner stated that “[o]ur concern is spending money in the wrong place at the wrong time.” Ron Maixner stated that the Board is “batting 100% in making bad decisions,” including with respect to management, equipment buying, and operation of a restaurant. After the meeting concluded, but before recording devices were turned off, one of the board members referred to the Maixners as “our three problem makers.” At the next meeting, the Board voted not to renew the Maixners’ leases and notified them by -2- letter. The letters did not state a reason, but the Board later explained that the decision was based on conduct and behavior of the Maixners toward staff and other campers. The Maixners filed an action against the Board under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, seeking $450,000 in damages and an injunction. The complaint alleged that the Board’s non-renewal decision violated the First Amendment and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. After the Board filed an answer denying the claims, the Maixners moved for a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction. The district court granted a temporary restraining order and scheduled a hearing. At the hearing, Loralyn Maixner testified in part that the Maixners sought $450,000 to compensate the family for the damages they claim to have suffered. The district court granted a preliminary injunction that prevented the Board from evicting the Maixners from their campsites. The district court concluded that the Maixners had “demonstrated a likelihood of success on the merits of their retaliation claim, and therefore a preliminary injunction is appropriate.” Citing Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life, Inc. v. Swanson, 692 F.3d 864, 870 (8th Cir. 2012), the court reasoned that because the Maixners established a likelihood of success on their First Amendment claim, the court could presume that other factors necessary for a preliminary injunction were satisfied. The Board appeals the district court’s order. We review the district court’s conclusions of law de novo, findings of fact for clear error, and application of law to fact for abuse of discretion. Cigna Corp. v. Bricker, 103 F.4th 1336, 1342-43 (8th Cir. 2024). -3- II. A plaintiff seeking a preliminary injunction must show, among other things, that he is likely to suffer irreparable harm. Winter v. Nat. Res. Def. Council, Inc., 555 U.S. 7, 20 (2008). “Irreparable harm occurs when a party has no adequate remedy at law, typically because its injuries cannot be fully compensated through an award of damages.” Gen. Motors Corp. v. Harry Brown’s, LLC, 563 F.3d 312, 319 (8th Cir. 2009). Even where a permanent injunction may be appropriate relief after a final decision on the merits, preliminary injunctive relief is not necessarily warranted if any interim harm can be remedied in a final judgment. Bandag, Inc. v. Jack’s Tire & Oil, Inc., 190 F.3d 924, 926 (8th Cir. 1999) (per curiam). “Failure to show irreparable harm is an independently sufficient ground upon which to deny a preliminary injunction.” Watkins, Inc. v. Lewis, 346 F.3d 841, 844 (8th Cir. 2003). The district court determined that the Maixners demonstrated a likelihood of success on the merits of their retaliation claim. The court then concluded that “[s]ince this is a First Amendment issue, the other factors of a preliminary injunction are presumed to be met.” We conclude that a separate inquiry into irreparable harm is required, and that the record is insufficient to support a determination of likely irreparable harm that would justify a preliminary injunction. In Elrod v. Burns, 427 U.S. 347 (1976), a plurality of the Supreme Court reasoned that “[t]he loss of First Amendment freedoms, for even minimal periods of time, unquestionably constitutes irreparable injury.” Id. at 373 (plurality opinion). A majority of the Court later endorsed that proposition. Roman Cath. Diocese of Brooklyn v. Cuomo, 592 U.S. 14, 19 (2020) (per curiam). In Elrod, the Court explained the rationale: It is clear therefore that First Amendment interests were either threatened or in fact being impaired at the time relief was sought. The -4- loss of First Amendment freedoms, for even minimal periods of time, unquestionably constitutes irreparable injury. Since such injury was both threatened and occurring at the time of respondents’ motion and since respondents sufficiently demonstrated a probability of success on the merits, the Court of Appeals might properly have held that the District Court abused its discretion in denying preliminary injunctive relief. 427 U.S. at 373-74 (citations omitted). As this court has observed, Elrod ordered an injunction where it was “clear” that “First Amendment interests were either threatened or in fact being impaired at the time relief was sought.” Hotchkiss v. Cedar Rapids Cmty. Sch. Dist., 115 F.4th 889, 894 (8th Cir. 2024) (quoting Elrod, 427 U.S. at 373) (emphasis added in Hotchkiss). Not every First Amendment claim, however, involves an immediate “l
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