Disney accuses Ron DeSantis of violating its constitutional rights in ongoing legal feud
“The Governor seeks to evade responsibility for his actions on a narrower ground, asserting that a governor cannot be held officially liable for implementing, administering, and enforcing state laws that punish residents for political statements violating a state-prescribed speech code,” the company’s lawyers stated in a legal filing.
The media giant sued the governor in federal court in April, accusing him of violating its free speech rights by retaliating against its opposition to a state law that limits what schools can teach about sexual orientation or gender identity.
It’s the latest salvo in a legal battle that’s been ongoing since April, when the theme park giant filed a suit against the governor in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida. The broader battle began the year before, when Disney spoke out against the Parental Rights in Education Act, dubbed “Don’t Say Gay” by critics, which restricts instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity in schools. Even outside of the courts, the effects of the takeover are still far from resolved despite being renamed the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District.
Just on Wednesday, the district’s new, governor-appointed board announced it was considering slashing $8 million needed to pay off-duty law enforcement personnel who only police Disney sites due to litigation costs associated with the Disney issue and other start-up expenditures. Martin Garcia, the chairman, described it as “wasted spending.”.”
A yearlong conflict ignited by a Disney lawsuit
The “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which restricts what schools can teach about LGBTQ issues, sparked national outrage and opposition from more than 150 major companies, including the Human Rights Campaign. The Walt Disney Company joined the protest and publicly denounced the law after its workers walked out.
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The board is named in the lawsuit, along with interim Secretary Meredith Ivey of the Department of Economic Opportunity. It has brought a claim of its own in state court against Disney. Disney and DeSantis continue to argue.
DeSantis has frequently linked the legislative onslaught on Disney with what he terms their “woke” criticism of his landmark parental rights law in interviews, publications, and speeches. However, at other times and in his legal defenses, he claimed that same initiatives were aimed at promoting justice and putting Disney on “a level playing field with every other business in Florida.”
Violation of contract
Beyond First Amendment infringement allegations, Disney claims the defendants additionally stepped on the Constitution by violating its contract with it and taking its property without adequate compensation. Disney accuses them of doing this without “legitimate state interest,” thus violating the 14th Amendment’s Due Process clause. DeSantis’ attorneys call all this “meritless.”
suit, which would end the case and free him from any legal consequences.
DeSantis vs Disney
DeSantis’ attorneys believe the steps were not taken in retribution in a recent petition asking the court to dismiss the case or, “at minimum,” dismiss the charges made against the governor. In contrast, they claim that those moves were taken to implement “overdue” reform on a unique taxing district that gave the firm “unprecedented power to govern itself.”The defendants claimed that “special districts in Florida typically operate for limited governmental purposes, such as water-management services.” Disney, however, was given complete autonomy thanks to RCID’s powers. They called the lawsuit a “last-ditch power grab” — and one the governor has legal immunity from. Disney disputes that.
“This case presents the fundamental question whether the Governor and the State can escape accountability for their open defiance of our Nation’s most cherished liberties,” its attorneys wrote. “The motion seeks dismissal on Article III standing, sovereign immunity, and legislative-immunity grounds, but those principles have no application here.”
Disney also questioned a Central Florida Tourism Oversight District board petition that claimed the case should either be halted pending the state litigation or dismissed in a separate filing on Wednesday.
“The right to free speech and the right to contract are essential pillars of a free society,” the business stated. “Recently, the State of Florida has forgotten about those fundamental ideas.”
