Extra! Extra! Disney’s Lawsuit Shotdown in Federal Court
From That Park Place
“United States District Judge Allen Winsor dismissed The Walt Disney Company’s lawsuit against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and the State of Florida…
In a 17-page document granting the motion to dismiss, Judge Allen Winsor wrote, “The clerk will enter a judgment that says, ‘This case was resolved on motions to dismiss. Plaintiff’s claims against the Governor and the Department Secretary are dismissed without prejudice for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. Plaintiff’s claims against the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District board members are dismissed on the merits for failure to state a claim.”
Judge Winsor specifically addressed the First Amendment claim writing, “‘As a general matter, the First Amendment prohibits government officials from subjecting individuals to retaliatory actions after the fact for having engaged in protected speech.’ But it is settled law that ‘when a statute is facially constitutional, a plaintiff cannot bring a free-speech challenge by claiming that the lawmakers who passed it acted with a constitutionally permissible purpose.’ The Eleventh Circuit has ‘held that many times.’ And this settled law forecloses Disney’s claim.”
He also noted, “In short, Disney lacks standing to sue the Governor or the Secretary, and its claims against the CFTOD Defendants fail on the merits because ‘when a statute is facially constitutional, a plaintiff cannot bring a free-speech challenge by claiming that the lawmakers who passed it acted with a constitutionally impermissible purpose.”
Shocked! I am shocked I tell you!
Who could have predicted this outcome?
Oh, yeah. Me.
“Keeping the free speech suit going also feels like a very Bob Iger thing to do. His pride is on the line. The problem is what it has always been. The move against Reedy Creek was legally speaking only ever about Reedy Creek. Disney was never mentioned in the legislation once. While that government entity was completely captured by the Walt Disney Company, it never became the property of the WDC.
Did losing it damage Disney? Absolutely. Walt Disney World was the last company town in America that was recognized by law. Losing control of Reedy Creek may eventually cost that company billions of dollars in the long term. But legally this was just a side effect of reform legislation that brought the Reedy Creek Improvement District down to the same legal standards all of the other special taxing districts have to work under.
The first judge found a third cousin that owned a few shares of Disney stock and bailed. He was the Obama appointee. The new judge was appointed by Trump. Riding this train into the cliff face until the wreckage is sold to the scrapyard is simply a face-saving move at this point.”
I expect further legal action from Disney. This suit always was about public relations, it obviously never had any legal standing, only retard journalists and Pixie Dusters thought it ever did. The bigger problem coming up aside from a life or death stockholder meeting is what happens when the investigators file their charges about the decades of legal abuses the Reedy Creek Improvement District was allegedly committing on The Walt Disney Company’s behalf.
