On Wednesday, U.S. District Court Judge Allen Winsor issued an opinion dismissing the federal case Disney brought against Governor DeSantis. This ruling finally ends Disney’s futile attempts to control its own special government and receive benefits not available to other businesses throughout the state. To read the opinion from Judge Winsor, click here.
In the opinion, Judge Winsor cited numerous errors in Disney’s arguments, including the fact that Disney is “not the district’s only landowner, and other landowners within the district are affected by the same laws —” “the statute did ‘not implicate any constitutionally protected conduct’” and was therefore constitutional; and “courts shouldn’t look to a law’s legislative history to find an illegitimate motivation for an otherwise constitutional statute.”
Below is a statement from Jeremy Redfern, Governor Ron DeSantis’ Press Secretary:
As stated by Governor DeSantis when he signed HB 9-B, the Corporate Kingdom is over. The days of Disney controlling its own government and being placed above the law are long gone. The federal court’s decision made it clear that Governor DeSantis was correct: Disney is still just one of many corporations in the state, and they do not have a right to their own special government. In short — as long predicted, case dismissed.
