TALLAHASSE, Fla. (CN) — A federal judge dismissed Walt Disney Parks and Resorts’ free speech lawsuit against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and his appointed oversight board on Wednesday, the latest development in a tit-for-tat battle between the entertainment giant and Republican governor.
In the 17-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Allen C. Winsor rejected Disney’s claims that DeSantis and the Florida Legislature replaced a pro-Disney development oversight board with one of the governor’s choosing due to the corporation’s criticism of the Parental Rights in Education Act, known more commonly as the “Don’t Say Gay” law.
“As Disney appropriately acknowledges, the legislature can determine the structure of Florida’s special improvement districts,” Winsor, a Donald Trump appointee, wrote. “Disney does not argue that the First Amendment (or anything else) would preclude the legislature from enacting the challenged laws without a retaliatory motivation.”
Disney also did not prove the oversight board has taken or will take actions that harm the corporation due to the governor’s appointments, the judge said.
“But as things stand, if this court enjoined future appointments, Disney would face the same situation it faces now: it would be operating under the [oversight board], over which it has no control,” Winsor wrote. “Stopping hypothetical future appointments would not redress any alleged imminent harm.”
As such, Winsor noted, Disney does not have standing to sue.
Disney signaled the company would appeal the decision.
“This is an important case with serious implications for the rule of law, and it will not end here,” a Disney spokesperson said in a statement.
“If left unchallenged, this would set a dangerous precedent and give license to states to weaponize their official powers to punish the expression of political viewpoints they disagree with. We are determined to press forward with our case.”
Jeremy Redfern, the governor's press secretary, praised the judge’s decision.
“The days of Disney controlling its own government and being placed above the law are long gone,” Redfern said in a statement. “The federal court’s decision made it clear that Gov. DeSantis was correct: Disney is still just one of many corporations in the state, and they do not have a right to their own special government.”
The quarrel between Disney and the state stems from the corporation’s opposition to the law banning teaching sexual orientation and gender identity topics from kindergarten through third grade.
Disney heavily criticized the bill, which DeSantis signed into law in March 2022, and vowed to end any political contributions to state lawmakers.
The governor attacked Disney as a “woke corporation” and directed the GOP-controlled Florida Legislature to remove Disney’s self-governing status that was in place for more than 50 years.
The former Reedy Creek Improvement District reacted by quietly passing a series of development agreements that effectively neutered the new board from making any major decisions affecting the theme park’s 25,000-acre property.
DeSantis answered with a series of proposals to wrest control of the district from Disney, including placing tolls on roads within the district in addition to new taxes and state inspections of the theme park’s monorail.
At one point, noting that the state has several miles of undeveloped land adjacent to the theme park, the governor bounced around the idea of building a prison abutting the district.
Disney responded in turn with a federal lawsuit accusing DeSantis and the board members of a “targeted campaign of government retaliation — orchestrated at every step by Governor DeSantis as punishment for Disney’s protected speech.”
Then, the new Central Florida Tourism Oversight District filed its own lawsuit in state court to nullify the previous board’s development agreements. Disney countersued.
The dismissal of the federal case does not mean the fight between DeSantis and the entertainment giant is over. In addition to a possible appeal to the Eleventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, two state lawsuits await a judge’s decision on motions to dismiss the complaints.
The feud between Disney and the state has led to a series of headaches for DeSantis, who recently dropped out of the 2024 presidential race, and for the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District board members.
One of the governor’s appointees abruptly resigned in May without giving a reason. Then, the newly appointed administrator of the district, Glen Gilzean, was forced to resign from his role as chairman of the state’s ethics commission. Florida law does not allow public employees to serve on the commission, according to a legal opinion from the commission’s lawyer.
And since the creation of the new board, dozens of employees have left the district , citing a lack of morale and a politically charged atmosphere, according to an Associated Press report.
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