Florida judge rejects Disney's request to toss state lawsuit

A state judge on Friday denied Disney’s request to throw out a lawsuit seeking to nullify a loophole the entertainment giant used to wrestle back authority over its sprawling central Florida theme park.

The legal fight centers on an agreement the California-based entertainment giant quietly made in February with a previous board that had authority over Disney’s central Florida theme park. That agreement essentially gave control of the area back to Disney for decades — after the Florida Legislature moved to strip Disney of its autonomy.

The Central Florida Tourism Oversight District state lawsuit against Disney argues that the company’s February agreement giving it back authority “reek[s] of a back room deal,” violated state law and is null and void.

Ninth Circuit Court Judge Margaret Schreiber’s ruling represents a win for the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, the board backed by Gov. Ron DeSantis that sued Disney in May.

The state lawsuit, however, is separate from the federal suit brought by Disney in April asserting that DeSantis and his hand-picked board violated the company’s First Amendment rights and retaliated against the company for speaking out against Florida’s Parental Rights in Education law, better known as “Don’t Say Gay,” which bans teachers of young students from leading instructions on gender identity and sexual orientation.

“Today’s decision has no bearing on our lawsuit in federal court to vindicate Disney’s constitutional rights, and we are fully confident Disney will prevail in both the federal and state cases,” Disney said in a statement Friday after the ruling.

A spokesperson for the governor’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

DeSantis and Disney, which is one of Florida’s largest employers with more than 70,000 employees, have feuded for more than a year. The fight has taken on added significance since DeSantis is running for president and mentions his battle with Disney while campaigning.

And while Democrats — including the White House — have criticized DeSantis over the feud, some of the governor’s Republican rivals have also dinged DeSantis, including former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former President Donald Trump.