A judge in Florida on Friday rejected Disney’s request to dismiss a lawsuit brought by the board of supervisors appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis to oversee Walt Disney World’s theme park operations.
The judge denied Disney’s motion in the lawsuit that says the company wrongly stripped appointees of powers over design and construction at Disney World when it made agreements with predecessors, who were supporters.
In a ruling, Judge Margaret Schreiber said the issue of whether the agreements are “void ab initio will not be resolved until a court of competent jurisdiction decides the issue in favor of one party or the other.”
“That issue is alive and active and has real-world consequences for both parties,” the judge stated. “The validity and enforceability of the agreements is at the heart of both the state and federal lawsuits. This alone bodes against a mootness argument.”
The judge emphasized that Florida courts “will not dismiss a case as moot when ’the questions raised are of great public importance or are likely to recur,” and deemed the validity of the agreements as “great public importance.”
Attorneys for Disney had argued that any decision in state court would be moot since the Republican-controlled Legislature already has passed a law voiding agreements that the company made with a prior governing board made up of Disney supporters that gave design and construction powers to the company.
The entertainment giant had asked that the state court case be put on hold if it’s not dismissed until the federal lawsuit in Tallahassee was resolved since they covered the same ground and that lawsuit was filed first.
However, the judge emphasized that Disney’s alternative request for a stay “is due to be denied,” given the absence of elements necessary for applying the principle of priority, namely the requisite identity of parties and claims.
“Even when the priority of principles applies, a court has discretion to deny a stay based on exceptional circumstances, which the court finds exist here,” the order states.
“To require the District to wait to have its claims heard here is untenable because the District is a local government that must continue governing while Disney’s case winds its way through the federal system,” it added.
“It could take years for Disney’s case to complete its course through the federal trial and appellate courts.”
The entertainment company’s former Reedy Creek Improvement District, where Disney World is located, now called the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, has been the center of a year-long feud between Disney and the Republican governor of Florida.
The new board filed a legal challenge against Disney’s case in Federal court after it accused the governor and the board members of carrying out a campaign of political retribution for opposing a bill against grooming in schools.
