On Thursday, February 1, Disney filed an appeal of a federal judge's ruling that dismissed the company's lawsuit against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
On Wednesday, Disney suffered a major setback when it did not rule in its long-standing lawsuit against DeSantis. After the defeat, a company spokesman said:
“This is an important issue with serious implications for the rule of law, and it will not end here. If left unchallenged, this will set a dangerous precedent and give a license to states to weaponize their formal powers to punish the expression of political views they do not agree with. We are determined to move forward with “Our cause.”
According to CBS News, US District Judge Allen Winsor dismissed the company's lawsuit against Governor DeSantis, ruling that the company did not have legal standing for the same.
What is Disney's lawsuit against DeSantis?
The origins of Disney's battle with the DeSantis government can be traced back to 2022.
At the time, DeSantis passed a bill limiting discussion of topics such as gender and sexuality in classrooms. Such topics were to be excluded from discussion among students from the fourth grade onwards.
The bill, dubbed the “Don't Call Gay” bill, was not well received by most people.
One big name was the company's then-CEO, Bob Chapek, who publicly expressed his views against the bill after several of his employees did the same. Subsequently, the company's control of the Reedy Creek Improvement Area, an area they had controlled since the 1960s, came under attack.
In February 2023, the company was completely stripped of its authority over Reedy Creek. The Legislative Council clarified that the region is no longer subject to the authority of the company, but rather to the authority of the government. It has been renamed The Reedy Creek Improvement District was transferred to the Central Florida Tourism Control District and appointed five officials headed by DeSantis to oversee the district's projects.
The company then decided to sue DeSantis, claiming that the Legislature had ruled against them in response to their differences of opinion on a prior matter. This, in their view, was a direct attack on the company's “First Amendment rights.”
In a separate lawsuit, the company also alleged that since DeSantis was appointed to the district it initially controlled, board members failed to properly maintain records.
On what basis was Disney's lawsuit dismissed?
On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor dismissed Disney's lawsuit against DeSantis, who stated that the company “lacks standing to bring the lawsuit.” He also said that these claims had no empirical support because the company had failed to show any harm the new board had caused or would cause in the future.
he added:
“In fact, Disney has not alleged any specific harm from any Board action.”
As a result, the company filed an appeal on Thursday, challenging the ruling and demanding transparency in the matter.
With the company appealing to the legislature, it will take some time before we get a proper ruling on the matter.
