California company sues Nevada for unfriendly business rules

Associated Press

Published Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2015 | 2:04 p.m.

Updated Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2015 | 3:30 p.m.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A California moving company that has been trying to expand to Reno has run into regulations that challenge Nevada's reputation for being a business-friendly state, attorneys said in announcing a federal lawsuit on Wednesday.

Steve Saxon, owner of Affordable Moving & Storage in Sacramento, filed suit last week in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas, calling Nevada's business license regulations unconstitutional. The lawsuit was submitted by the Pacific Legal Foundation, a conservative group that advocates for limited government.

The suit claims that Nevada essentially bans new competition from moving companies, limousine services and other transportation-related businesses unless existing companies don't object.

If an existing company does object, the applying business must prove that it won't create competition, the suit claims.

Saxon, who runs a fleet of 10 trucks, said that gives competitors veto powers.

"It's basically protecting the ones that are already in place, and preventing new ones from coming in," Saxon told The Sacramento Bee in Wednesday's edition. "There's a very few companies in Reno; they've got a monopoly."

Nevada state officials won't comment on the lawsuit. However, Teri Williams, a spokeswoman for Nevada's Department of Business and Industry, said the state has allowed 46 moving companies to start up since 2000. Six of them have expanded, she said.

Saxon is being joined by the owners of a Reno limousine service that was denied permission to expand its fleet last summer.

The Pacific Legal Foundation is representing both plaintiffs at no charge.