United States Ninth Circuit

In an action challenging San Francisco ordinances that comprehensively regulate the towing industry within the city and provide a number of conditions and requirements concerning towing permits, the district court's grant of summary judgment, which followed this court's earlier decision vacating partial summary judgment and remanding, is affirmed in part and reversed in part where: 1) the safety exception covered regulations related both to the safety of the tow trucks themselves and to the safety of the people whose vehicles are towed; 2) the Permit Scheme's permit requirements fell within the safety exception, as did multiple other Permit Scheme provisions; 3) possession and display requirements were not subject to preemption by the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act (FAAAA); and 4) the Permit Scheme's complaint system requirement fell within the safety exception, but its business plan requirement did not and therefore was preempted by the FAAAA.

Appellate Information

• Decided 08/13/2015
• Published 08/13/2015

Judges

• Berzon

Court

• United States Ninth Circuit

Counsel