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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE FEB. 4, 2013
CONTACT:
Food Truck Association Che Ruddell-‐Tabisola Political Director (202) 294-‐6915 [email protected]
Institute for Justice Robert Frommer Attorney (703) 682-‐9320 [email protected]
Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP Noah Sullivan Associate 202-‐887-‐3576 [email protected]
Judge Tosses Out Prosecution Against Arlington Food Truck Favorite
ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA – An Arlington County judge today granted the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s motion to nolle prosequi in its case against the Korean fusion food truck Seoul Food, completely dismissing the case. Anna Shil, who owns Seoul Food with her husband JP Goree, faced the possibility of up to a year in jail and a fine of $2,500. Her alleged crime? Not moving her truck “far enough.” Seoul Food has been serving Arlington residents for the past year and a half. But in recent months the County began enforcing a provision in its law that forces food trucks to move every 60 minutes. Violating the anti-‐competitive restriction is a Class 1 misdemeanor, meaning that Arlington treats serving customers for 61 minutes as harshly as driving drunk or assault. Worse yet, Arlington County’s law is vague and open to different interpretations. The law does not specify how far a food truck must move, only that it must “remain stopped for … no longer than sixty (60) minutes.” On three different occasions, three different Arlington officials gave Seoul Food three different explanations of how far their truck must move to comply with the law. Most recently, Shil moved the truck within the 60-‐minute period, but Arlington police still cited her because the officer felt that Seoul Food had not moved “far enough.” With today’s dismissal, Shil can breathe easy knowing that she won’t go to jail for the crime of serving customers from her food truck. “I’m happy this is behind us and we can focus back on making the food we love, serving our regulars and preparing to open our brick-‐and-‐mortar restaurant,” said Shil. “And I hope this case spurs the County to get rid of its 60-‐minute rule.”
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Seoul Food is a member of the Food Truck Association of Metropolitan Washington, which has more than 50 members in Arlington and Washington, DC. “This case highlights the absurdity of treating what amounts to a parking violation as a crime on par with assault,” said Doug Povich, Co-‐Owner of Red Hook Lobster Pound-‐DC and Chairman of the Food Truck Association of Metropolitan Washington. “We have had good discussions with the Arlington Economic Board and County Board of Supervisors to revise a law that just doesn’t make sense,” Povich said. “The Food Truck Association hopes to work with the County in the months ahead to craft a food-‐truck law that serves the County’ residents and workers and keeps food trucks as a vibrant part of Arlington's business community and streetscape." Shil was represented in the case by attorneys in the Washington, DC office of Gibson, Dunn, & Crutcher LLP, a leading international law firm. Gibson Dunn attorneys Noah Sullivan, Michael Huston, Alex Harris, and Michael Diamant vigorously pursued Shil’s defense in order to secure the case’s dismissal. “We applaud the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s decision in this case and think it shows that they understand why this ordinance is problematic. A person cannot be prosecuted for a crime when the rules are vague, unclear, and conflicting,” said Noah Sullivan, one of Shil’s attorneys. Also supporting Seoul Food was the Institute for Justice, which is based in Arlington. “The Institute for Justice works to improve vending laws around the country, so when we heard about what was happening in our own backyard, we had to get involved,” said IJ attorney Robert Frommer. “Until recently, Arlington County has been lauded as a vending success story. We hope that the County will scrap its counterproductive 60-‐minute rule and let food trucks get back to what they do best: serving their customers.”
About the Food Truck Association of Metropolitan Washington
The Food Truck Association of Metropolitan Washington is a group of more than 50 food truck owner-‐operators in Arlington County and Washington, DC. We seek to sustain the wellbeing of our industry, foster a sense of community and work in partnership to improve food truck regulations. We are engaged community members who deeply care about our city and believe in working together to make a positive impact. The Food Truck Association’s signature event is the Curbside Cookoff food truck festival series. For more information visit www.DCFoodTrucks.org.
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