NORFOLK, Va.—Today, a federal court ruled that the town of Parksley, Virginia, and Councilman Henry Nicholson violated the U.S. Constitution’s Fourth Amendment, as well as Virginia law, when Nicholson cut a water pipe running from the Eben-Ezer Food Truck, causing more than a thousand dollars in food spoilage and damages. Eben-Ezer Food Truck owners Theslet Benoir and Clemene Bastien teamed up with the Institute for Justice (IJ) to sue in January 2024, after Nicholson repeatedly harassed them, cut the pipe, and, according to Theslet and Clemene, told them to “go back to your own country.”
“I am very happy that this will set an example for all hardworking food truck owners, so government officials won’t mistreat them,” said Clemene.“I am very emotional. I am happy in my heart.”
In today’s ruling, Judge Arenda Wright Allen held that Nicholson is not protected by qualified immunity for his actions, which means that he is personally liable. The court also held that the town is liable for Nicholson’s actions under what is called Monell liability.
“This ruling makes it clear that government officials cannot hide behind qualified immunity when they intentionally destroy an innocent person’s property for no reason other than a personal vendetta,” said IJ Managing Attorney Justin Pearson. “What Nicholson and the town did to our clients was not just wrong, but blatantly unconstitutional, and we’re glad Judge Allen agreed with us.”
In June 2023, the couple purchased a one-year food truck permit from the town of Parksley and opened Eben-Ezer Food Truck, the town’s first food truck. Shortly after the truck opened, Nicholson stopped by to rant about how competition from a food truck would hurt established restaurants and falsely accused the owners of dumping grease (it was water from a burst town pipe that had nothing to do with Clemene, Theslet, or their food truck). After some back-and-forth, Nicholson came onto their property and illegally cut a pipe connected to the food truck, causing more than a thousand dollars in food spoilage and damaging the truck’s equipment. The next day, according to Theslet and Clemene, Nicholson returned and tried to block a delivery of new groceries, yelling “go back to your own country” when Clemene confronted him.
Then, in October 2023, Nicholson successfully convinced the town board to ban food trucks. When that happened, the town promised Theslet and Clemene that they could continue to operate their food truck until their annual permit expired. However, the Mayor became angry when Theslet and Clemene spoke with reporters, leading the town to send Theslet and Clemene a letter threatening them with 30 days in jail and $250 daily fines if they continued to operate their food truck.
As part of their lawsuit, Theslet and Clemene argued that those later actions also violated their First Amendment rights, because the town took them in retaliation after they spoke with reporters. Although Judge Allen agreed that the town intended to retaliate against them for their speech, she found that a separate part of the code independently barred food trucks, so Judge Allen did not award damages for the First Amendment retaliation, only for the Fourth Amendment and Virginia law violations.