Argument at Oct. 12 Hearing on Mont. TikTok Ban Will Be 30 Minutes Per Party, Says Judge

If the parties call witnesses to testify at the Oct. 12 hearing on the plaintiffs’ consolidated motions for a preliminary injunction to block enforcement of the statewide TikTok ban when it takes effect Jan. 1, under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 65(a)(2), the court may advance the trial on the merits and consolidate it with the hearing, said U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy for Montana in Missoula in a signed order Wednesday (docket 9:23-cv-00056). The parties had sought clarity from the judge about whether he expected or preferred live witness testimony at the hearing (see 2309200002). Evidence that’s received at the hearing on the motion for an injunction that would be admissible at trial becomes part of the trial record and need not be repeated at trial, said the order. “Beyond some clarifications of the parties’ intentions, the hearing will proceed according to the rules,” it said. Each party will be limited to 30 minutes of argument, and no amici will be permitted to argue, it said.