News

Food truck owners sue Florida town over restrictive law

December 7, 2018

Two food truck owners have sued the city of Fort Pierce, Florida, over a 2014 law that restricts where they can operate their business, according to a press release.

Benny Diaz, owner of Taco Truck, and Brian Peffer, owner of the Creative Chef on Wheels, have joined the Institute for Justice in suing the city for the right to sell food under the same conditions as restaurants.

The city bans food trucks from operating within 500 feet of a restaurant, which the institute claims is one of the most stringent such bans in the country. Justin Pearson, managing attorney for the institute's Florida office, said the law violates the state's constitution.

The law's only purpose is to protect restaurants from competition, a fact that the city's commissioner stated repeatedly when enacting the ban in 2014, the press release stated.

The institute is bringing similar actions against food truck regulations in Baltimore, Chicago and Fish Creek, Wisconsin. It has already helped eliminate protectionist laws in Carolina Beach, North Carolina; Louisville, Kentucky; and San Antonio and El Paso, Texas, according to the press release.