Federal Judge Sets Date For Next Disney-DeSantis Hearing
The next chapter in the ongoing battle between Ron DeSantis and The Walt Disney Company will be written in December when the two sides meet in federal court.
Judge Allen Winsor is set to hear arguments on December 12 at 9:30 a.m. over whether or not to dismiss Disney’s suit against the Florida governor.
Disney’s Argument
Disney is suing DeSantis and his allies in the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District (CFTOD) over the dissolution of the Disney-run Reedy Creek Improvement District.
The company argues that the state dissolved Reedy Creek in retaliation for Disney speaking out against Florida’s Parental Rights in Education law (which critics have dubbed “Don’t Say Gay”).
The governor’s actions, Disney argues, 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”.
“Disney regrets that it has come to this,” the company’s lawsuit said. “But having exhausted efforts to seek a resolution, the company is left with no choice but to file this lawsuit to protect its cast members, guests and local development partners from a relentless campaign to weaponize government power against Disney in retaliation for expressing a political viewpoint unpopular with certain state officials.”
DeSantis Demands Dismissal
DeSantis and his allies meanwhile have argued that the dissolution of Reedy Creek was about reform and not punishment. The Walt Disney Company, they say, is 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.”
In addition to dismissing Disney’s First Amendment argument, DeSantis and his team further assert that the governor should be immune from suit. The motion to dismiss relies on this interpretation.
“The governor’s appointment power is just one aspect of the governmental apparatus that the Legislature created to replace RCID’s (Reedy Creek Improvement District’s) charter,” the motion said. “The cause of Disney’s alleged injury is thus not the governor’s ‘enforcement’ of … (the) appointment provision, but the ‘very existence’ of … (the) repeal provision.”
A Neverending Back and Forth
While December 12 will be an important date for both parties, it will not be the last showdown between the Florida governor and Disney.
As always, continue to check back with MickeyBlog. We will update you on all the news surrounding the ongoing litigation between Ron DeSantis and the Walt Disney Company.
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