The newest lawsuit, filed in federal court on June 22, alleges that San Diego park rangers continued citing Hubbard for teaching yoga even after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that his instruction is protected speech under the First Amendment. The complaint also challenges the legality of citations issued not only while Hubbard was teaching in a public park, but even while he was livestreaming a yoga class from his own backyard.
The latest filing marks the third active lawsuit involving Hubbard and the City of San Diego and represents another escalation in a legal battle that has stretched on for more than two years over whether yoga instruction in public parks constitutes protected expression or an unpermitted commercial activity.
The dispute stems from San Diego's 2024 ordinance prohibiting yoga instruction in shoreline parks and beaches without city approval. Hubbard and fellow instructor Amy Baack challenged the ordinance shortly after receiving citations from park rangers.
In June 2025, the Ninth Circuit handed Hubbard a sweeping victory, reversing the district court and holding that teaching yoga is protected speech under the First Amendment. The three-judge panel concluded San Diego's shoreline parks are traditional public forums, found the City's ordinance was content-based because it singled out yoga by name, and ordered the lower court to issue a preliminary injunction preventing the City from enforcing the ordinance against Hubbard and Baack while the case proceeds. The appellate court further concluded San Diego failed to demonstrate any plausible connection between teaching yoga and threats to public safety or public enjoyment sufficient to justify such restrictions.
The Ninth Circuit's opinion left little ambiguity about its view of the ordinance. "Teaching yoga is protected speech," Judge Holly A. Thomas wrote for the unanimous panel.
According to the newly-filed complaint, however, Hubbard says the citations continued. The lawsuit alleges that on May 6 and May 25, 2025, park rangers detained and cited Hubbard while he was teaching yoga at Pacific Beach's Palisades Park, despite the federal court's rulings recognizing constitutional protection for his instruction.
Perhaps the most unusual allegation involves a citation issued on May 24, 2025. According to Hubbard's attorney, Bryan Pease, two park rangers traveled to Hubbard's Pacific Beach residence and cited him while he was livestreaming an online yoga class from his own backyard. The City allegedly concluded that because someone in a public park could potentially watch the livestream, Hubbard was effectively teaching yoga within the park without authorization. The lawsuit also alleges Hubbard was cited for giving a lecture, despite the Ninth Circuit having already concluded that such expressive activity enjoys First Amendment protection.
"The federal court had already ruled that you can't cite somebody for giving a lecture in the park," Pease told NBC 7.
The new lawsuit seeks damages and alleges the citations violated Hubbard's constitutional rights by chilling protected speech after federal courts had already rejected the City's legal interpretation.
Meanwhile, the broader legal battle continues on a separate front. In an earlier state court action still pending, Hubbard and Baack continue challenging San Diego's enforcement policies regarding yoga classes in parks and beaches. That case has recently expanded beyond the original constitutional issues after City attorneys served subpoenas seeking Hubbard's bank records, Venmo and Zelle transactions, social media accounts, financial applications, and GPS location records associated with students who donated to his classes.
Pease has asked the court to quash those subpoenas, arguing they amount to harassment and an unwarranted invasion of privacy.
"They're spending all of these vast resources and hiring outside parties and experts and issuing subpoenas," Pease told NBC 7. "It smacks of harassment at this point."
City attorneys are reportedly attempting to demonstrate that Hubbard operated a commercial enterprise requiring city permits rather than offering constitutionally protected donation-based instruction. A hearing regarding the subpoenas is scheduled for July 17, while the state court trial remains scheduled for January 2027.
Ironically, even as Hubbard's legal fight with San Diego continues to intensify, his profile has expanded nationally. Just days before filing this latest lawsuit, Hubbard traveled to Washington, D.C., where he opened a bipartisan Capitol Hill briefing for Men's Mental Health Awareness Month with a guided breathwork and mindfulness session titled We Can All Breathe Together. The event brought together policymakers, mental health advocates, healthcare leaders and federal officials to discuss emotional intelligence and men's mental health.
For now, the legal battle that began with yoga mats on the sand has evolved into a much broader constitutional dispute over free speech, government enforcement, and the limits of municipal authority in San Diego's public spaces. While Hubbard prevailed before the Ninth Circuit last year, his newest lawsuit suggests he believes the City has yet to fully accept that ruling.
Originally published on June 29, 2026.