Yoga Instructors Sue City Again in Clash Over Hosting Classes at Parks, Beaches

Two yoga instructors who previously sued the city of San Diego over its crackdown on yoga classes in public parks and beaches filed a new lawsuit this week.

They allege that city park rangers have issued additional citations for live streaming yoga classes online.

Steven Hubbard and Amy Baack sued the city last year in federal court, contending that the city’s enforcement on such gatherings violated their First Amendment rights.

The crackdown stemmed from an amended ordinance concerning street vendors that also prohibited other types of commercial activity without a permit, such as yoga classes attended by four or more people.

In a new lawsuit filed Wednesday in San Diego Superior Court, Hubbard and Baack reiterate many of their original claims from their prior lawsuit, but add that Hubbard has received seven citations for holding yoga classes on live streams from his home.

The tickets were because others viewed the streams at a city park.

Hubbard and Baack say they have stopped teaching outdoor classes due to similar citations they received for allegedly violating the amended city ordinance.

The city declined to comment on pending litigation.

The instructors’ previous lawsuit is proceeding. In a ruling issued earlier this month, U.S. District Court Judge Cathy Ann Bencivengo found that the instructors had not shown that the ordinance “limits their ability to discuss yoga’s philosophical or spiritual merits in a public park.”

However, she wrote that one citation Hubbard received referenced him lecturing about yoga, which would indicate a First Amendment violation, as opposed to others regarding hosting yoga classes, which concern a person’s conduct rather than their speech.