San Antonio passed an ordinance requiring all towing services to go through a single city-approved contractor. Two towing company owners sued, arguing federal law blocked the city from doing this. The appeals court agreed and reversed the lower court's decision, ruling that federal transportation law preempts the city's monopoly ordinance. This matters to construction subcontractors because cities sometimes try to restrict which vendors can provide services—this case shows federal law can block those restrictions.
Cities cannot use local ordinances to force all business through a single contractor if federal law applies to that industry—federal law wins