Case Information
Meet the Client
Plaintiff Abdallah Ismail owns and operates Fatty Patty. Fatty Patty serves gourmet, made-to-order burgers across five locations in the greater Milwaukee area. One of those locations is a food truck on Water Street. With lower barriers to entry than traditional brick-and-mortar restaurants and more flexibility to go to where customers are, the food truck business offers an attractive option for individuals looking to share their specialty cuisine with their communities and to serve a diverse clientele.
Case Description
The City of Milwaukee ordinance bans food trucks after 10:00 p.m. in the downtown area and after 11:00 p.m. near Burnham Park. The new law is unconstitutional, violating the right to earn a living and the guarantee of equal treatment. WILL is seeking an emergency stay of the law, which takes effect at 10:00 p.m. on Saturday.
The stated rationale for this ordinance is equally as absurd as expecting patrons to eat their post-bar meal before 10:00 p.m.: that the food trucks are to blame for downtown Milwaukee’s violent crime problem. But using food trucks as a scapegoat for Milwaukee’s crime problem is a thinly veiled pretext for economic protectionism.
The ordinance author and one of its main public sponsors both revealed their true intention, which is the protection of brick-and-mortar restaurants from competition. But that is an illegitimate reason to interfere with food truck owners’ right to earn a living.
The Argument: We advance two primary legal arguments:
- The Ordinance violates Article I, Section 1 of the Wisconsin Constitution by interfering with Mr. Ismail’s right to earn a living.
- The Ordinance violates Article I, Section 1 of the Wisconsin Constitution by arbitrarily treating food trucks on Water Street differently than bars and restaurants on Water Street, thereby denying them equal protection under the law.
Case Documents
Complaint, May 2026
Motion in Support of Temporary Restraining Order, May 2026
Temporary Restraining Order Granted, May 8 2026
Judge’s Decision and Order, June 2026
- City of Milwaukee Repeals Costly Food Truck Curfew Following WILL’s Lawsuit (9/29/2026) - The News: The Milwaukee Common Council unanimously voted to rescind a food truck ordinance that forced food truck owners to close their business at 10:00 p.m., during peak business hours. The mayor recently made that action official. After WILL filed suit in May, a Milwaukee County Circuit Court judge issued a temporary restraining order blocking […]
