A judge has thrown out a lawsuit that Disney filed against Gov. Ron DeSantis claiming the Republican governor had retaliated against the company.
Disney publicly opposed the Parental Rights in Education or what critics call the Don’t Say Gay law which was backed by the Republican legislature in 2022. The law bans most instruction of gender identity and sexuality in the state’s K-12 schools.
DeSantis and the legislature replaced the Disney-led Reedy Creek Improvement District with its own Central Florida Tourism Oversight District months later.
But Judge Allen Winsor of the Northern District Court of Florida in his ruling Wednesday, January 31, said these actions are now, “in the past.”
He also says Disney couldn’t prove sufficient damages resulting from these actions.
In a statement, Disney calls the ruling a dangerous precedent and said, “We are determined to press forward with our case.”
In a statement, the governor's press office wrote, "the Corporate Kingdom is over. The days of Disney controlling its own government and being placed above the law are long gone."
