The title “life coach” is one of those nebulous jobs that inspires thoughts of a New Age, hippie pursuit that possibly doubles as a scam, or alternatively is the fruit of a genuine desire by someone motivated to teach other people how to live and function better.
A Pensacola woman has made her effort at life-coaching into a First Amendment case and is asking a federal appeals court for a favorable ruling that, depending on your view, could expand business opportunities or create a new class of charlatans.
In 2017 Heather Kokesch Del Castillo was a privately certified, self-employed health coach dispensing dietary advice.
The Florida Department of Health got wind of her activities and moved to shut her down.
Since dietitians are registered and monitored by the state, the DOH claimed that Del Castillo must stop providing counseling and obtain a license.
She also was fined more than $750.
“All I wanted to do was give people advice on how to eat healthier,” Del Castillo said in a statement, distributed by the Institute for Justice, a public interest law firm.
“If I had written a book giving the exact same dietary advice, my speech would have been totally protected. But because I talked with clients directly, Florida claims that my speech is a crime because I’m unlicensed.”
Del Castillo sued and, according to the Institute for Justice, last month the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against her.
Citing a state law that allows Florida to govern interior designers, the appellate court ruled that Del Castillo’s personal dietary advice is “conduct,” not speech, as protected by the First Amendment.
The Institute said recently it was challenging the ruling.
The group has asked that the full 11th Circuit Court hear the case and overrule the three-judge panel that backed the DOH.
“The Eleventh Circuit panel’s position is that advising someone on how to lose weight by eating better is, for First Amendment purposes, no different from performing bariatric surgery or liposuction,” Paul Sherman, a senior attorney for the Institute, said in a statement.
“That’s wrong, and the entire Eleventh Circuit should rehear Heather’s case to correct it.”
The group believes it can prevail, citing a 2018 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that declared in certain cases free speech cannot be curtailed by licensing requirements. The group said Del Castillo is prepared to take her case to the Supreme Court, if the 11th Circuit does not side for her.
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