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Credit: Ron DeSantis/Disney, edited by Inside the MagicThe Walt Disney Company has taken quick action after a U.S. District Court judge decided to dismiss its First Amendment lawsuit against Governor Ron DeSantis and has immediately filed an appeal, forcing the case back into the public eye.
In a surprisingly abrupt turn, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and his Central Florida Tourism Oversight District (CFOTD) won a huge victory over Disney yesterday when Judge Allen Winsor ruled against it, citing a previous case that stated, “What we are saying is that, as a matter of law, the First Amendment does not support the kind of claim [plaintiff] makes here: a challenge to an otherwise constitutional statute based on the subjective motivations of the lawmakers who passed it.”
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More succinctly, the judge decided that Disney simply didn’t have legal standing to bring a lawsuit against the governor, meaning the right to do so. The decision allowed that it could theoretically sue the CFTOD board of supervisors (which it also was), but not the chief executive of the state.
However, Disney did not gain a reputation as one of the most litigious companies in the history of the world by taking decisions like that lying down. Earlier today, lawyers for Disney filed an appeal against the Winsor decision, asking the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit to take up the case.
The full filing and previous decision can be read here:
Interestingly, this means that both Disney and DeSantis are currently appealing decisions in the Eleventh Circuit that will have momentous effects on their continuing legal battle. While any legal appeal in Florida automatically goes to the court, it does have the immediate effect of putting the governor on simultaneous defense and offense by forcing him into two cases in the Eleventh Circuit at the same time. It is difficult not to imagine this being a new kind of ploy by Disney, particularly to strike a little harder against a rare win for the governor.
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Disney is asking the court to take another look at its First Amendment rights, which it claims were violated by the governor when he dissolved the Reedy Creek Improvement District, allegedly in political retaliation. For his part, DeSantis is demanding that the court throw out its own previous decision against him in a case regarding Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren, which the latter claimed was a similar violation of his constitutional rights.
However the Eleventh Circuit decides to proceed, it’s clear that the legal war between Disney and DeSantis is far from over.
Inside the Magic reached out to the CFTOD and the office of Governor DeSantis for comment, but has not heard back by the time of publishing.
Who do you think is winning in this court case? Tell us in the comments below.