A New Development in the Disney Court Case

The Disney court case happening now continues to make the news. What do you think of this latest development?

The Walt Disney Company vs. the State of Florida

The past year has been turbulent between the state of Florida and The Walt Disney Company. Florida passed the Parental Rights in Education Law in 2022.

The Walt Disney Company originally remained quiet surrounding this bill despite pleas from employees and fans for them to take an official stance. Tension built until then-CEO Bob Chapek denounced the bill, but many believed it was too little, too late.

The tension between the company and the state continued to worsen as state Republicans repealed the Reedy Creek Improvement Act of 1967. Essentially, the law states that Disney is its own governing body in the two cities and land within Orange and Osceola counties.

Disney’s Response

Tension continued to grow over time. It seems like every day we are hearing about something between the Walt Disney Company and Florida’s Governor, Ron DeSantis.

While Disney seemed to remain pretty quiet during all of this, we finally saw a response in late April. Daniel M. Petrocelli, a high-powered Los Angeles litigator, filed complaints on Disney’s behalf in federal court. You can read more about what the complaints said and more details in this post HERE.

Judge Disqualified

In the latest development of these proceedings, we are now learning that the Judge who was handling the case has now disqualified himself. In the case’s Order on Disqualification, the Judge says that he is disqualifying himself because “a relative within the third degree” owns stock in Disney.

The Judge goes on to say, “Upon learning this information, I became obligated to engage in a separate inquiry pursuant to the Code of Conduct for United States Judges to determine if the financial interest of my third-degree relative “could be substantially affected by the outcome of [this] proceeding.”

Chief United States District Judge, Mark Walker has disqualified himself from the case of WALT DISNEY PARKS AND RESORTS U.S., INC., vs. Ronald D. DeSantis

In a new filing, the case has been “reassigned to Judge, Allen C. Winsor for all further proceedings.”

What do you think of the recent change in judges for this case? Let us know in the comments below or share this post with a friend who is following this case.