Helena can move forward with its campaign to annex the Indian Ford Fire District, a Jefferson County judge ruled, in an order that temporarily bars Hoover from courting landowners in the district.

“In the interest of justice and to allow the citizens of the entire Indian Ford Fire District to have their voices heard, the City of Hoover is hereby restrained from proceeding with or starting the process of annexation on any property within the Indian Ford Fire District for a period of 10 business days,” Judge David Hobdy said in the order on Tuesday evening.

It’s the third ruling Hobdy has entered on which city can campaign the district’s residents since Helena sued Hoover on Friday. He initially entered a temporary restraining order on Monday barring Hoover from courting landowners until the district votes in an election next month to decide whether to be annexed by Helena. Later Monday, the judge then entered an order barring both cities from campaigning to annex in the fire district, which is located west of both cities in unincorporated Jefferson and Shelby counties.

On Tuesday, the fire district’s board of directors filed to intervene in the case, seeking to also stop Hoover’s annexation campaign. Hobdy reversed his earlier ruling after a court hearing that same day.

The latest ruling bars Hoover from campaigning for 10 business days, meaning it does not extend past the election on Aug. 8. If Helena doesn’t file the necessary paperwork for the annexation process, it will forfeit its turn and Hoover can move forward with its campaign, instead.

It’s unclear why the deadline is for 10 days, Phillip Corley, Jr., Hoover’s attorney, told AL.com.

“Nobody has explained where that came from,” he said in an email. “There is no evidence or affidavit from anyone relating that time frame to any official activity.”

Corley said that Hoover disagrees with the judge’s ruling.

“Despite the ruling of the Court, we maintain our position that the statutory process in which the City of Helena is attempting to annex the entire fire district has been declared void by the Alabama Supreme Court and so recognized by the Alabama Attorney General,” Corley said in an email. “We will seek all available remedies to ensure that this ruling is overturned.”

Spokespeople and attorneys for Helena as well as the Indian Ford Fire District did not respond to multiple requests for comment.