Bob Iger, President of The Walt Disney Company.
Drew Anger | Getty’s paintings
Disney urged a federal court to reject a motion by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to disqualify a judge overseeing a company trial accusing the governor and his allies of political retaliation.
DeSantis’ attorneys argued that Judge Mark Walker should withdraw from the trial over his comments in two separate cases that related to a clash between the governor and the entertainment giant.
Disney – which has been in a dispute with DeSantis since last 12 months when the corporate went against his bill, which critics dubbed “Don’t Say Gay” – responded that the defendants’ arguments didn’t meet the legal standard of disqualification.
“Judges are usually not barred from accurately addressing widely reported events during oral arguments, nor can they disqualify themselves if cases related to those events come before them months later,” Disney’s lawyers argued in Thursday’s court.
“Disqualification is barely permitted if prior comments reveal the judge’s inability to consider a recent case by itself merits,” the lawyers wrote, adding that the judge’s comments in query “don’t come anywhere near that standard.”
Disney’s lawsuit alleges that DeSantis “organized at every turn” a campaign to punish the corporate for speaking out against a Florida law restricting classroom discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity. This alleged scheme now threatens the corporate’s operations, according to Disney.
“The case we filed last month made our position and the facts very clear,” Disney CEO Bob Iger said during an interview in regards to the company’s earnings earlier this month. “And it’s really about one thing and one thing only, and that’s retaliation against us for taking a stand on pending laws.”
The attempted removal of Walker as a judge in a Disney civil case in the U.S. District Court in Tallahassee, Florida, got here days before DeSantis launched his 2024 presidential campaign. The governor, who’s seen as former President Donald Trump’s primary competitor for the GOP nomination, has gained national notoriety for his involvement in quite a few political battles.
A protracted-running battle between an ambitious politician and one among his state’s top employers spilled over into the courts after governor’s elected officials voted to cancel Disney’s Orlando park development deals.
Disney filed the lawsuit in late April after the brand new board of its special district voted to revoke the event contracts the corporate said to protect its investments. The corporate has since updated this lawsuit to include newly passed laws targeting its monorail system as further evidence of retaliation by the governor.
DeSantis’s next volley was about to move to replace Walker. Walker was nominated to function a judge of the USA District Court for the Northern District of Florida in 2012 by then-President Barack Obama.
In 2018, Walker ruled against the state and ordered then-Governor Rick Scott to restore the voting rights of felons upon their release from prison.
That very same 12 months, he ordered the Florida Department of Corrections to proceed hormone treatment for a transgender inmate and to supply her with women’s underwear and grooming products. An inmate diagnosed with gender dysphoria was placed in a male-only correctional facility.
DeSantis representatives didn’t immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.