Disney and DeSantis Agree To Extend Deadline For Key Court Proceeding
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and The Walt Disney Company have finally agreed on something.
The two sides in an ongoing federal 1st Amendment lawsuit have agreed to extend the deadline for Disney to respond to the DeSantis’ team motion to dismiss the case from October 19 until October 30.
How We Got Here
Disney is suing DeSantis and allies in federal court, arguing that the governor-led dissolution of Disney’s Reedy Creek Improvement District was done in retaliation for the company speaking out against Florida’s Parental Rights in Education Bill (which critics have dubbed “Don’t Say Gay”).
Reedy Creek
Initially, Disney filed a wider federal suit that asked Judge Allen Winsor to enforce the company’s last-minute binding agreements with Reedy Creek. Those agreements would have given Disney governing control over their land in perpetuity.
Photo: CFTOD
The Central Flordia Tourism Oversight District, which replaced Reedy Creek, has subsequently nullified Disney’s Reedy Creek agreements.
Photo: The Wall Street Journal
In September, Disney dropped the parts of the lawsuit involving the Reedy Creek agreements, narrowing the suit to focus on the First Amendment issues.
DeSantis Moves To Dismiss
DeSantis and his lawyers have previously asked Judge Allen Winsor to dismiss Disney’s case, arguing that both DeSantis and the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District are immune from being sued, as they do not “enforce any of the laws at issue.”
Photo: Maria Tamo/Getty Images
Additionally, DeSantis’ team is arguing that the dissolution of Reedy Creek was about reform, not punishment. The company, they say, is simply suing in a “last-ditch effort to reinstate its corporate kingdom.”
“Disney claims that the First Amendment gives it, rather than Florida lawmakers, the right to decide the structure and composition of the governing entity in the district,” attorneys for the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District wrote. “Disney may own most of the land in the district, but it does not own the government. That still belongs to the people, acting through their elected representatives.”
Photo: Fox Business
Disney’s Response
Disney for their part has stated that the dissolution of Reedy Creek was clear-cut retaliation.
Photo: Greg Angel/Spectrum News 13
The governor’s actions, they argue, were “a clear violation of Disney’s federal First Amendment rights for the state to inflict a concerted campaign of retaliation because the company expressed an opinion with which the government disagreed.”
Per the agreed-upon extension, DeSantis and his team will now have until November 9 to respond to Disney’s rebuttal.
Photo Credit: https://www.worldofwalt.com/disney-private-government-disneys-reedy-creek-improvement-district.html
As always, continue to check back with MickeyBlog. We will bring you updates on the ongoing battle between Ron DeSantis and The Walt Disney Company as they break.
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