Pizza di Joey, LLC and Madame BBQ, LLC v. Mayor and City Council of Baltimore, 470 Md. 308 (Ct. of Appeals)

Filed: August 17, 2020

Holding: The City 300-foot rule that prohibits food trucks from operating within three hundred feet of a brick and mortar restaurant that serves food similar to the food truck is not unconstitutional under Article 24 of the Maryland Constitution, and is not void for vagueness because, though there was a lack of guiding standards for enforcement, there are circumstances where the ordinance would be constitutional.

Opinion by: Judge Jonathan Biran

Summary: Two food truck operators (the “Food Trucks”) filed suit against the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore (the “City”) in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City, seeking a declaration that a provision of the City’s vending ordinance restricting food trucks from parking within 300 feet of a brick-and-mortar restaurant that primarily sells the same type of food (the “300-foot rule” or the “Rule”), deprives them of equal protection and substantive due process of law in violation of Article 24 of the Maryland Declaration of Rights.  After taking evidence, the Circuit Court held that the 300-foot rule does not violate Article 24’s equal protection and substantive due process requirements.  However, the Circuit Court sua sponte enjoined the City from enforcing the 300-foot rule, concluding that the Rule is impermissibly vague, notwithstanding that the Food Trucks had affirmatively waived the vagueness claim.  On appeal, the Court of Special Appeals ruled in favor of the City, finding that (i) the 300-foot rule does not violate Article 24’s equal protection and substantive due process requirements, (ii) the Food Trucks had not preserved a vagueness claim for appellate review, and (iii) any claim for vagueness failed on the merits.  On appeal, the Court of Appeals affirmed the Court of Special Appeals.

Analysis: The Court of Appeals began its analysis by determining whether the Food Trucks had standing to assert their substantive due process and equal protection claims, noting that “[u]nder Maryland common law, standing to bring a judicial action generally depends on whether one is aggrieved, which means whether a plaintiff has an interest such that he or she is personally and specifically affected in a way different from the public generally.”  The Court held that the Food Trucks had standing to challenge the Rule’s constitutionality because the record established, among other things, that (i) they paid for and received mobile vendor licenses; (ii) they would have operated in various commercial districts in the City of Baltimore but for the Rule and would have received substantial benefit from operating in those districts; and (iii) they altered their business plans as a result of the Rule.

Next, the Court of Appeals addressed the appropriate level of review for the constitutionality of the Rule and found that the deferential “rational basis” test was appropriate because it did not involve a “clearly suspect” criteria or infringe on a “fundamental” or “important personal” right.  The Court of Appeals then held that the Rule satisfied the rational basis review because “the restriction on the locations where the Food Trucks may operate are not arbitrary, oppressive, or unreasonable. To the contrary, the Rule directly furthers the City’s conception of what is necessary for its general welfare.”  The Court further held that the Rule would satisfy the more demanding “heightened rational basis” standard of review because the Rule “bears a ‘real and substantial relation’ to the legitimate interest the City has in ensuring the vibrancy of its commercial districts and, thereby, promoting the general welfare.  Among other things, the Court noted that the Rule avoided the “‘free rider’ problem posed by food trucks siphoning business from brick-and-mortar restaurants after those restaurants have invested their resources and become semi-permanent members of the neighborhoods in which they are based.”

Finally, the Court of Appeals addressed the claim that the Rule is void for vagueness.  The Court noted that the Circuit Court erred by invalidating the 300-foot rule based on a vagueness claim because the Food Trucks had affirmatively waived the claim.  However, because of that error, the Court concluded that it had authority to address the merits of the question.  First, the Court of Appeals held that the Rule was subject to a facial vagueness challenge because there was a lack of guiding standards regarding enforcement, such that “there is a high risk that authorities necessarily will enforce the law arbitrarily.”  Next, the Court noted that, “in order to prevail on a facial vagueness claim, the person challenging the statute must show that there is no set of circumstances under which the statute would be constitutional.”  Applying this standard, the Court held that the Rule was not unconstitutionally vague because there were obvious circumstances under which the statute would be constitutional (e.g., Pizza di Joey parking its food truck within 300 feet of a brick-and-mortar pizzeria).  The Court further held that the phrases used in the Rule, such as “primarily engaged in” and “same type”, are not vague because while not defined in the ordinance, they are common and have generally accepted meanings.

The full opinion is available in PDF.