PANAMA CITY BEACH — A scooter rental company has filed a lawsuit against Bay County and the city of Panama City Beach, alleging that the government bodies exceeded their authority when passing ordinances to regulate the businesses.
Classy Cycles, which does business as California Cycles and has four locations in the city limits of Panama City Beach and one in the unincorporated area of the county, has filed the lawsuits in circuit court.
Its lawsuit against Panama City Beach, the company asks the court to issue a declaratory judgment that the ordinance is unconstitutional and “exceeds the scope of Panama City Beach’s Home Rule Authority by seeking to regulate safety equipment on moped and scooter riders and vehicles when said field has been preempted by the state."
The ordinance requires that the scooter rentals by Sept. 1 will install on every moped or scooter a flag and safety vests for riders by June 8.
The suit states that the plaintiff will suffer “irreparable harm” to their business as 90 percent of customers say they will not rent a moped or scooter if they are forced to wear a vest, the lawsuit states.