Judge overseeing Disney lawsuit recuses himself after DeSantis team files motion to disqualify

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (FLV) – U.S. Chief District Judge Mark Walker recused himself from overseeing a lawsuit involving Disney and Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Walker removed himself from the case after DeSantis’ team filed a motion in an attempt to disqualify him from overseeing the lawsuit.

DeSantis’ team 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.” 

“Even though I believe it is highly unlikely that these proceedings will have a substantial effect on the Walt Disney Company, I choose to err on the side of caution — which, here, is also the side of judicial integrity — and disqualify myself,” Walker wrote in a 14-page order. “Maintaining public trust in the judiciary is paramount, perhaps now more than ever in the history of our Republic.”

Walker reportedly said in a court filing Thursday that he removed himself from overseeing the case because a relative owns 30 shares of Disney stocks. He described the person as a “third-degree relative.”

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

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.

The Disney lawsuit will now be heard by former President Donald Trump-appointed U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor, according to reports.