Disney is currently deeply involved in several lawsuits involving its Walt Disney World resort and the state of Florida. It will likely be some time before those cases enter a courtroom, assuming they ever do. However, Disney just won a separate legal battle, and one that was associated with the same conflict. Although, this one was against one of the company’s shareholders.
Kenneth Simeone is a shareholder in the Walt Disney Company who sued the House of Mouse for documents regarding the company’s opposition to the Florida Parental Rights in Education Act, called “Don’t Say Gay” by many who opposed the bill. He claimed that he believed the company’s decision to oppose the bill was negligent because doing so created a public conflict between Disney and Florida which has harmed the stock price.
However, Deadline reports Judge Lori Will has ruled in favor of Disney in Delaware Chancery Court. Will says there is no evidence of wrongdoing on the part of Disney. While there is certainly a battle between Disney and Governor DeSantis, the judge felt Disney's decision to speak out against the bill could be seen as reasonable, since it could have a material impact on the company's employees. Not only that, but the Judge called the entire legal action, “lawyer-driven” as Simeone was allegedly sought out by the lawyers who brought the suit and was not very involved in the case at all, having not even read the complaint before it was filed.
While not directly related to either the lawsuit that Disney brought against Governor Ron DeSantis or the lawsuit brought against Disney by the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, it does trace itself back to the same core issue, Disney’s public protest surrounding the state’s “Don’t Say Gay” law.
The law in question controls how much teachers are allowed to discuss sexual orientation and gender identity in Flordia’s public schools. As the state’s largest single-site employer, many fans, as well as Cast Members, of Disney wanted to see the company stand against a bill they saw as harmful. Then Disney CEO Bob Chapek eventually did speak out in opposition, resulting in a response from Governor DeSantis that included replacing the Florida special district that oversaw Disney World with a new board picked by him.
Disney brought a federal lawsuit against the new special district board and Governor Ron DeSantis in April, claiming that a series of laws signed by the Governor are retaliation against Disney World for the company exercising its first amendment rights. DeSantis recently asked the judge to remove him from the suit based on legislative immunity.
A second lawsuit was filed in state court, brought by the new board against Disney World, claiming that a deal the previous board made with the resort over land control should be invalidated. Disney has moved to have that lawsuit tossed out because one of the laws signed by DeSantis allowed the new board to invalidate the deal on its own, so the suit has lost any meaning.
With all the various motions in front of the judges in these cases, it could be some time before they actually enter a courtroom, unless any of the various attempts to dismiss the cases are successful, in which case all this may not be litigated at all.
