A recent federal court decision that allowed a Portland based band to trademark their band name “The Slants” could lead to high level court overturning a decision that left a NY food truck out of a NY food truck event. The Wandering Dago food truck was barred from a State of New York food truck event in 2013 when complaints were received claiming that the name of the truck offended Italians.

ALBANY, NY – The attorney for the Schenectady-based food truck called the Wandering Dago believes a new decision by a federal appeals court undermines several of the arguments made by state attorneys in their justification for banishing the controversially named business from the Empire State Plaza.

The owners of the truck, Andrea Loguidice and Brendan Snooks, filed suit in late August 2013 against top officials at the state Office of General Services and the New York Racing Association, claiming that the Wandering Dago had been rejected by OGS’s summer lunch program on the Empire State Plaza and ejected from the Saratoga Race Course due to state officials’ objections to its name.

While “dago” is generally understood to be a slur, Loguidice and Snooks insist it is nothing more than a tribute to her Italian ancestors, laborers who were paid “as the day goes.”

Loguidice filed a separate lawsuit last year, claiming that she was fired from her job as an attorney for the Department of Environmental Conservation due to her connection to the truck.

Find the entire article at timesunion.com [here]