TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA — On Monday, attorneys for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis told a federal court that Disney lacks standing to sue the governor. In a 27-page motion, lawyers argued that DeSantis and Meredith Ivey, named as secretary for Florida’s Department of Economic Opportunity, are “immune.”
Since his official announcement as a presidential contender, DeSantis has leaned into the drawn-out battle with Disney despite attacks from former President Trump, Mike Pence and other Republicans.
Disney’s complaint – that DeSantis specifically targeted the entertainment behemoth after it denounced a controversial bill known by critics as “Don’t Say Gay” – “fails to state a claim on which relief can be granted,” attorneys argued.
CASE IS “UNPERSUASIVE”
“Disney lacks standing to sue the Governor and Secretary, who are also immune from suit,” they argued in a filing in U.S. District Court in Tallahassee.
Neither DeSantis nor Ivey is the enforcer of the legislative acts mentioned in the suit, the attorneys wrote. Disney’s attempts to link them to the laws passed by Florida legislators “are unpersuasive.”
“Signing a law is not ‘enforcing’ a law,” the attorneys argued, adding that “Disney’s claims against the Governor run square into his legislative immunity” and its “allegations of retaliatory intent do not change the analysis.”
Disney filed the First Amendment lawsuit in federal court in late April. The case centers on the special tax district encompassing Walt Disney World, which previously allowed the company to self-govern for decades.
The district, formerly known as the Reedy Creek Improvement District, was renamed the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District by Florida’s Legislature and gave the governor authority to appoint its five-member board.
