On Wednesday, January 31, a federal judge dismissed Disney’s lawsuit against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. In the now-dismissed lawsuit, the Walt Disney Company was alleging that Governor DeSantis had retaliated against it after it quite publically criticized the Parental Rights in Education Act, called the “Don’t Say Gay Bill” by critics.
As background, the Parental Rights in Education Act was passed in response to parental concerns that public school teachers were discussing sexuality with children who are too young for such discussions. It prohibited such classroom discussions about gender identity or sexual orientation with those in third grade or younger, and made certain sexual discussions against the law for all grades.
Disney quickly came out swinging against the bill, criticizing the law in a March of 2022 statement. In the statement, Disney said, “We are dedicated to standing up for the rights and safety of LGBTQ+ members of the Disney family, as well as the LGBTQ+ community in Florida and across the country.” Continuing, Disney argued that Florida “should never have passed and should never have been signed into law.”
Further, Disney added that it was committed to helping battle against the law in the courts, saying, “Our goal as a company is for this law to be struck down in the courts, and we remain committed to supporting the national and state organizations working to achieve that.”
Soon afterward, Gov. DeSantis and the Republican-led Florida government looked into stripping Disney of its special control over the Reedy Creek Improvement District, which is the autonomous area where the Walt Disney World Resort is located. Eventually, that effort led to Florida enacting a law in 2023 in which it reformed the district and renamed the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District (CFTOD).
So, Disney sued Governor DeSantis, the state commerce secretary, and members of the CFTOD board. In the suit, Disney alleged that the effort to strip it of its autonomous power was retaliatory and, thus, an impermissible attempt to restrict the company’s First Amendment rights.
U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor of the Northern District of Florida, based in Tallahassee, shot down that effort. Judge Winsor wrote, “In short, Disney lacks standing to sue the Governor or Secretary, and its claims against the CFTOD Defendants fail on the merits because ‘when a statute is facially unconstitutional, a plaintiff cannot bring a free-speech challenge by claiming that the lawmakers who passed it acted with a constitutionally impermissible purpose.”
Continuing, Judge Winsor added, “At the end of the day, under the law of this Circuit, ‘courts shouldn’t look to a law’s legislative history to find an illegitimate motivation for an otherwise constitutional statute.’ Because that is what Disney seeks here, its claim fails as a matter of law.”
Disney, for its part, vowed to appeal and described the ruling as “dangerous.” In a statement released in response to the ruling, a Disney spokesperson said, “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.” Continuing, the spokesperson added, “This is an important case with serious implications for the rule of law and it will not end here.”
DeSantis press secretary Jeremy Redfern, commenting on the matter, said, “As stated by Governor DeSantis when he signed HB 9-B, the Corporate Kingdom is over.” Redfern continued, “The days of Disney controlling its own government and being placed above the law are long gone. The federal court’s decision made it clear that Governor 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. In short — as long predicted, case dismissed.”
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