Ex parte means "from (by or for) one party", the judge acts upon the moving party's request without hearing from the other party. They are supposed to be rare and meet a high bar -- generally involving emergencies (and occasionally involving actions that need to remain secret).

Given that the allegations span many months, it's hard to see how it was an appropriate form of action here. I'd be very interested to see if there was a written decision granting the TRO.

Edit: This appears to be it http://www.noticeoflawsuit.com/docs/Second%20Amended%20Order...