Do I hear a settlement offer? Anyone?
A lawsuit filed by Food Not Bombs against the city of Houston will proceed after a federal judge rejected the city’s effort to dismiss the case.
Since March 2023, FNB volunteers have received more than 90 tickets for feeding unhoused Houstonians during the organization’s weekly meal services outside of the Central Library in downtown. In January, the organization filed a federal lawsuit against the city, which spurred a federal judge to temporarily stop the city from enforcing the law until the case is resolved.
Shortly after the lawsuit was filed, the city requested the lawsuit be dismissed, claiming that they had an obligation to “regulate the provision of food and to regulate the use of city streets” and to protect “citizens from the dangers of feeding events that do not meet the City’s health and safety standards.”
Earlier this month, on June 6, U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen denied the city’s request.
“The court already found that Plaintiffs have demonstrated a likelihood on the success on the merits on two of their constitutional challenges,” Hanen wrote. “The court is unpersuaded by Defendant’s arguments for dismissing.”
See here and here for the background. I continue to believe that it is very much in the city’s interest to pursue a settlement. If this does proceed to a trial, it would happen in late 2025, with discovery to begin in January. That gives plenty of time for a settlement to be worked out beforehand. If we can find an agreement with the firefighters, we can find one with Food Not Bombs.