The Walt Disney Company in April filed a lawsuit against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and seven other officials alleging harm to its business (
pdf).
In May, the governor announced his intention to run for president.
The lawyers met on June 15 via videoconference and on Tuesday filed a joint report (
pdf).
Disney’s team proposed a schedule with a trial date of July 15, 2024.
If granted, the trial would coincide with the Republican National Convention.
DeSantis’s lawyers had the day before that made a motion to
dismiss the lawsuit. The motions assert that the state officials are “absolutely immune” because their actions were legislative; Disney argued they were political.
“Defendants believe it is premature to set a case schedule in light of the pending motions to dismiss,” the joint report reads. The defendants proposed a significantly later schedule should the court not dismiss the case, with a suggested trial date in August 2025.
Earlier this month, U.S. Chief District Judge Mark Walker
recused himself from overseeing the case, stating he learned a relative owns stock in Disney .
The case was reassigned to Judge Allen Winsor, who has
dismissed lawsuits challenging Florida’s Parental Rights in Education Bill, which was notably criticized by Disney executives.
The Epoch Times reached out to Disney and the governor’s office for comment.
Feud in Florida
In 1967, Disney was granted the power to govern itself. The Reedy Creek Improvement District (RCID) was established so that Disney could oversee its own water-management system, local taxes, building and safety codes, development caps, and other such decisions without legislative approval.Last year, state legislators Joe Harding and Dennis Baxley introduced the Parental Rights in Education Act (
pdf), prohibiting discussions of sex and gender identity with children up through grade three. Critics were vocal and nicknamed it the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. Disney, responding to activists, made public its opposition to the bill, with Disney CEO Bob Chapek pledging to cease political donations in Florida.
Some parents responded with calls to boycott Disney.
“You’re a corporation based in Burbank, California, and you’re going to marshal your economic might to attack the parents of my state?” DeSantis said during an event in April 2022. “We view that as a provocation, and we’re going to fight back against that.”
Florida legislators and DeSantis announced their intention to strip Disney of its special district status; the legislation was signed in March and went into effect this month. The board members of RCID were replaced.
Disney asserts the motive was political. “A targeted campaign of government retaliation—orchestrated at every step by Governor DeSantis as punishment for Disney’s protected speech—now threatens Disney’s business operations, jeopardizes its economic future in the region, and violates its constitutional rights,” reads the suit.
Financial Woes
After Disney’s stock tanked 44 percent in 2022, which led to a plan to lay off 7,000 employees in an attempt to save $5.5 billion.Jessica Reif Ehrlich, analyst with Bank of America,
told CNN in February that earnings this year are expected to fall 30 percent from last year, and “we anticipate Disney is likely to introduce structural changes as well as cost cuts.”
Disney’s latest blockbusters, including The Little Mermaid, Elemental, and several features from the Marvel franchise, were expensive endeavors that may not have turned a profit, according to a box office analysis. A calculation by Valliant Renegade estimated an
$890 million loss on its last eight films.
Also earlier this month, the company’s chief financial officer, Christine McCarthy, stepped down to take an advisory position during family medical leave. Disney’s stock dipped 1 percent after the announcement.
