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Credit: Inside the MagicThe Walt Disney Company has once again filed a motion for the court to postpone a Motion for Summary Judgment in its legal battle against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. The current filing deadline is February 21, but Disney lawyers claimed there is “simply too much outstanding discovery to complete” on time.
Disney requested six more months, citing an ongoing Motion to Compel Discovery from DeSantis’s hand-selected Central Florida Tourism Oversight District board. The new leadership took over a year ago after the Florida legislature dissolved Walt Disney World Resort’s Reedy Creek Improvement District. Disney claimed this was illegal retaliation against the company for using its First Amendment right to condemn DeSantis’s Parental Rights in Education Act (“Don’t Say Gay.”)
Judge Margaret H Schreiber must decide if the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District board will be required to hand over discovery in the case. Having previously accused the district of “empty promises,” Disney argued that “the District’s discovery conduct to date shows that even when it does agree to a discovery timeline, that agreement is often meaningless; and the deadline may pass without the promised result.”
Disney lawyers stated that when the district hands over discovery, they’ll need time to examine it and ensure it’s complete. Only then could they use it to complete depositions. Without extra time, the company claimed it would be “forced to choose between proceeding with crucial depositions without the documents that would inform those depositions—or risking the chance it will have to oppose summary judgment without the depositions at all.”
Judge Schreiber granted The Walt Disney Company’s first request for a 75-day continuance in November. In its second request, the House of Mouse claimed that prejudice against the company is rapidly increasing. As the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District board refuses to hand over discovery, DeSantis’s team continues ignoring a subpoena in a separate case against Disney. The Walt Disney Company claimed it was “blatantly stonewalled” by the former Republican presidential candidate and his hand-picked board.
Disney and the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District board are scheduled to appear in court on March 12 if Judge Schreiber doesn’t approve the continuance.
Is Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis or The Walt Disney Company winning their ongoing battle? Share your thoughts with Inside the Magic in the comments.