Why are two Haitian food truck owners suing the town of Parksley? Couple’s allegations against Virginian town councilman explored

Clemene Bastien and Theslet Benoir, the owners of the Eben-Ezer Haitian Food Truck on Bennett Street, filed a lawsuit against the Virginian town councilman on Tuesday, January 23. They did it in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in Norfolk.

As per the Associated Press, the married couple set up shop on the Eastern Shore after leaving Haiti. They then started selling rice, sodas, and spices that were difficult to find for the expanding Haitian population in the area. Later, they set up the food court.

However, they recently claimed that their Haitian food truck had to close because the town councilman of Virginia allegedly had issues with the truck. The pair further claimed that the councilman shouted, "Go back to your own country!" as he cut off the truck's water supply. They also alleged that the town's decision to close the truck was retaliatory and unconstitutional.

---

Haitian food truck owners allege they were harassed by the Virginian town councilman

The owners of the Haitian food truck are currently suing the small Virginia town because one of the town councilmen allegedly severed the food truck's water supply and yelled,

"Return to your own country."

The lawsuit alleges that after the couple voiced concerns, the town threatened to punish and imprison them after enacting a food truck ban that specifically targeted them. As per sources like ABC News, speaking through an interpreter, Bastien, the owner of the Haitian food truck, said,

“When we first opened, there were a lot of people. And the day after, there were a lot of people. And then ... they started harassing us.”

As per the ABC News, the lawsuit further claimed,

“If Theslet and Clemene were not of Haitian descent, Parksley’s town government would not have engaged in this abusive conduct".

According to Eastern Shore Post, the Institute for Justice, a legal practice documenting a "string of abuses" in the historic railway hamlet with roughly 800 residents, is representing them. The owners of the Haitian food truck are pursuing the case with Dylan Moore and Justin Pearson of the law firm.

As per Eastern Shore Post, Moore stated on Tuesday, January 23,

“They didn’t want to (file a lawsuit) initially but the harassment and the bullying… just kept coming”.

According to the same source, Pearson said,

“It’s not the government’s job to pick winners and losers in the marketplace. That choice belongs to consumers”.

In addition to reimbursement for legal fees incurred in the action, Bastien and Benoir request payment for the monetary damages suffered by their closed business. As per the same sources, addressing the financial loss, Moore further said,

“We don’t have a dollar value to put on the damages right now … (because) it is growing each dayhthat the food truck isn't open anymore."

On the other hand, the town council has hired Pender & Coward to represent them. Many of the accusations, it claimed, are "simply not true". According to FOX59, they said that the councilman was working for the public works department when he cut an unauthorized sewage pipe.

Netizens uploaded the news on X (Image via X / @Ben_Finley)

They further stated that after the food truck poured oil into Parksley's sewage system, causing damage, the council member had to cut the illegal sewage pipe rather than the water line.

Meanwhile, the Eastern Shore Post reported that the legal notice from the Haitian food truck owners has been delivered to the town and Nicholson, and they have 21 days to reply, though they are allowed to ask for an extension.

---