Disney opposes DeSantis’ bid to disqualify judge overseeing lawsuit

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (FLV) – Disney is opposing a request by Gov. Ron DeSantis to disqualify the judge overseeing a lawsuit in which Disney said it was “punished” for speaking out against what critics call the “Don’t Say Gay” legislation, according to reports.

DeSantis’ team filed a motion in an attempt to disqualify Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker from overseeing the lawsuit. They claimed his previous statements in other cases “raised questions about his impartiality on the state’s efforts to take over Disney World’s governing body.”

Disney said the request “didn’t come close to meeting the standards set out in Florida law for requiring a judge to be disqualified.”

“Judges are not prohibited from referring accurately to widely-reported news events during oral arguments, nor must they disqualify themselves if cases related to those events happen to come before them months later,” Disney argued.

Disney previously filed the lawsuit in April after DeSantis’ appointed board overseeing Disney World voted to nullify last-minute, far-reaching agreements.

The company alleged that the governor-appointed board is engaging in a “targeted campaign of government retaliation” that would threaten “Disney’s business operations, jeopardizes its economic future in the region, and violates its constitutional rights.”

DeSantis’ office responded, saying Disney has no “legal right” to “operate its own government or maintain special privileges not held by other businesses in the state.”

“This lawsuit is yet another unfortunate example of their hope to undermine the will of the Florida voters and operate outside the bounds of the law,” deputy press secretary Jeremy Redfern said.

“The government action was patently retaliatory, patently anti-business, and patently unconstitutional,” Disney said in its lawsuit, filed in a U.S. District Court in northern Florida.