Challenging the City of Fontana’s Unlawful Street Vending Rules
Despite strong California laws protecting the rights of street vendors, the City of Fontana has implemented local ordinances clearly designed to drive vendors out of the city. These anti-vending regulations impose burdensome and unlawful requirements, including expensive multi-million dollar insurance policies not required of brick-and-mortar businesses selling similar goods, and annual background checks.
Fontana has further escalated the situation by partnering with a third-party contractor to aggressively enforce these ordinances. This enforcement often involves harassment, confiscation of vendors’ carts and equipment, and the destruction of their food and supplies. Moreover, Fontana criminalizes any perceived interference with enforcement, subjecting vendors to penalties of up to six months imprisonment, and imposes a mandatory 30-day hold on confiscated property. These punitive measures directly violate state laws that decriminalize and legalize street vending statewide.
The City’s actions have resulted in hundreds of confiscations of food and goods, and more than 80 instances of impounded equipment, causing financial and emotional harm to dozens of street vendors. Additionally, very few vendors have been able to obtain vending licenses in the city due to its onerous and unlawful permitting requirements.
In August 2025, the Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice (ICIJ), represented by Public Counsel and pro bono law firm Arnold & Porter, filed a lawsuit challenging these unconstitutional practices. The lawsuit seeks a permanent injunction to stop Fontana’s unlawful enforcement, enabling street vendors to safely and lawfully resume their livelihoods.
Court
U.S. District Court Central District of California – Eastern Division
Status
Filed
Case No.
Filed
08/11/2025
Case Developments and Key Documents
Clients
Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice
Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice is composed of over 35 organizations that serve the immigrant community in the Inland Empire. Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice currently focuses on advocacy, changing the narrative, and capacity building. Its coalition engages in policy advocacy, community organizing and education, and rapid response to ICE and border patrol operations. They are collectively changing the narrative of the one million immigrants who live, thrive, and are a foundational part of the fabric of the IE, and are building organizational capacity through leadership development, cooperation, support networks, and shared regional strategies. Lastly, the Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice provides resources such as training, technical support, and grants to coalition partners to further support their efforts and mission in the region.
Legal Team
Public Counsel
- Ritu Mahajan Estes, Directing Attorney
- Sophia L. Wrench, EJW Fellow
- Cassidy J. Bennett, Staff Attorney
- Elizabeth R. Brown, Staff Attorney
- Jacob Maddox, Law Fellow
Co-Counsel
- Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP
Press
- Press Release—Street Vendors Sue City of Fontana to Overturn Unlawful and Unconstitutional Vending Rules, 8/12/25
- Media Coverage:
- San Bernardino Sun, Street vendors sue, say Fontana makes it ‘impossible’ to keep businesses open, 8/13/25
- NBC4, Street vendors sue city of Fontana over ‘discriminatory’ rules, 8/12/25
- Telemundo 52, Vendedores ambulantes demandan a la ciudad de Fontana, 8/12/25
- Univision 34, Fontana enfrenta demanda por ir contra vendedores ambulantes, 8/12/25
- KVCR, Fontana sued over street vending laws allowing equipment seizures, private enforcement, 8/12/25
