A federal judge is dismissing Disney’s (DIS) free speech lawsuit against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis — a big win for the politician amid his ongoing political feud with the media giant.
In a court filing obtained by Yahoo Finance, US District Judge Allen Winsor, who was appointed to the federal bench by former President Donald Trump in 2019, granted a motion to dismiss the First Amendment case. The judge determined that Disney’s position “fails on the merits” and ultimately “lacked standing,” or the right to sue.
To note, a separate state lawsuit is still pending in Orlando.
Disney filed a federal lawsuit against DeSantis and his hand-selected Central Florida Tourism Oversight District (CFTOD) board in April, alleging the governor launched a “targeted campaign of government retaliation” over Disney’s reaction to the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” law.
The law, the Parental Rights in Education Act, forbids instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity from kindergarten through third grade.
In 2022, then-Disney CEO Bob Chapek condemned the “Don’t Say Gay” law at the company’s annual shareholder meeting after initially declining to speak publicly on the matter.
In response, DeSantis signed a bill into law that allowed him to take control of the company’s long-standing special tax district, previously known as the Reedy Creek Improvement District (RCID), which authorized Disney to operate as a self-governing entity since its inception.
Disney, in addition to paying property taxes to Orange and Osceola counties, paid taxes directly to Reedy Creek. In turn, the district used that money to fund Disney’s various theme park projects and operations, including infrastructure upkeep.
The arrangement meant that Disney controlled all of its utilities and infrastructure, set building codes, operated its own police and fire departments, and could expand and grow whenever it wished — all without local or state government interference, until now.
DeSantis removed Disney’s hand-picked RCID board members, and Florida lawmakers retroactively invalidated the agreement between Walt Disney World and the district. DeSantis then appointed five new people to call the shots and rebranded the district as the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District (CFTD).
In his decision, Winsor said Disney does not have the grounds to sue the governor or the CFTD as DeSantis had already hand-selected the district appointees at the time of the lawsuit’s filing.
“The analysis could be different if the Governor had not yet made any appointments,” the judge said.
As a result, Disney would need to show the appointments posed “imminent future harm” for its case to proceed. But, as it stands today, the company “has not alleged facts showing that any imminent future appointments will contribute to its harm,” the judge concluded.
A Disney spokesperson said the company plans to appeal the decision. In a statement provided to Yahoo Finance, a spokesperson wrote, “This is an important case with serious implications for the rule of law, and it will not end here.”
“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,” the spokesperson continued.
The governor’s office did not immediately respond to Yahoo Finance’s request for comment, although the news comes after DeSantis, who recently ended his Republican nomination bid for president, publicly announced a desire to end his longtime feud with Disney.
Last fall, he, along with his board members, filed a motion to dismiss Disney’s case — which Disney passionately urged the court to reject at the time.
With contributing reporting from Yahoo Finance’s Alexis Keenan
Alexandra Canal is a Senior Reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter @allie_canal, LinkedIn, and email her at [email protected].
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