Disney Asks Florida Court To Toss Lawsuit Brought By Ron DeSantis’s Handpicked Board Over Walt Disney World Jurisdiction
deadline.comThe Walt Disney Co. is asking a judge to dismiss or stay a state lawsuit brought by the special district that oversees its Florida property, calling the litigation “moot” given recent actions taken by the state.
In a motion filed in Florida state court in Orange County (read it here), Disney also said that Florida law requires that the state court sideline the lawsuit until the company’s own federal case against Governor Ron DeSantis is resolved. “Disney’s earlier-filed and earlier-served federal action is pending between substantially the same parties, and it involves substantially overlapping issues,” the company’s legal team said in its brief. “In these circumstances, controlling precedents provide that the court lacks discretion to proceed with this case.
Disney regrets that it is compelled to litigate these issues anywhere, but the federal action is the proper vehicle for first hearing the parties’ dispute.” Disney sued DeSantis in federal court last month, over the governor’s effort to strip the company of control of the Reedy Creek Improvement District, the special district that has overseen its Florida property for the past 55 years.
Disney said that DeSantis’ efforts violated the its First Amendment and other constitutional rights because it was done in retaliation for the company’s opposition to a state parental rights bill, known as the “don’t say gay” law.
Read more on deadline.com