Disney v. Ron DeSantis: United States District Judge imposes first deadlines in high-stakes lawsuit

Jun 02, 2023 in "Reedy Creek Improvement District"

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Posted: Friday June 2, 2023 1:!2pm ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

Judge Allen C Winsor, who has been presiding over the case for just one day after replacing Judge Mark Walker, has set initial deadlines for Disney's lawsuit against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

The deadlines relate to DeSantis filing motions to dismiss Disney's case and the subsequent responses by Disney. The timeline for this phase of the case is through to at least early August 2023.

Here are the deadlines filed today by Judge Winsor.

DeSantis' deadline to file motions to dismiss is 6/26/2023.
Rule 26 Meeting Report due by 6/27/2023.
Disney's deadline to respond to any motions to dismiss is 7/26/2023.
DeSantis may reply no later than 8/9/2023.

Original Judge Mark Walker, disqualified himself from the case yesterday due to a family member owning a small amount of stock in The Walt Disney Company. The case has now been assigned to 46 year old Orlando-born Republican Judge Allen C Winsor, who was appointed by President Donald Trump in 2019.

Disney is suing DeSantis for what it says has been "a targeted campaign of government retaliation-orchestrated at every step by Governor DeSantis as punishment for Disney's protected speech-now threatens Disney's business operations, jeopardizes its economic future in the region, and violates its constitutional rights."

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castlecake2.03 days ago

Yes

Stripes3 days ago

Has Disney/CFTOD continued to replace the purple direction signage with the new blue color scheme since CFTOD took over?

mkt3 days ago

You're right. The new document will be different. It will be "different" in the way that Chris Gaines was "different" from Garth Brooks or how the drummer from Nirvana is "different" from the singer of the Foo Fighters.

Unbanshee3 days ago

Both are effectively picked by the Governor, just not technically. Look no further than the communications "strategy" with the replacement of Gilzean of the Governor's office getting out ahead of every single step of the process

lazyboy97o3 days ago

The settlement acknowledged the “need” to change the comprehensive plan, which undermines this idea. So too does the lack of an agreement, as the 2032 Comprehensive Plan wasn’t that different than the again in force 2020 Comprehensive Plan.

Brian3 days ago

That's understandable for sure. I just felt inclined to make the distinction due to the ongoing conversation, as the district administrator is selected by the board, while the board is selected by the governor.

mkt3 days ago

The new agreement will be functionally the same as the one Disney was sued over.

pdude813 days ago

You're right. This has been going on so long I just lumped all the antagonists together.

Brian3 days ago

Not to nitpick, but Gilzean was district administrator, not a board member.

pdude813 days ago

A bigger risk than keeping Garcia and Gilzean on the board as active disruptors? I don't agree with their decision to stall the federal lawsuit, but I understand why they saw the status quo as a risk to growth over the next few years.

lazyboy97o3 days ago

You don’t think dropping your bargaining power in the middle is the best strategy in a negotiation?

flynnibus3 days ago

Again… we know nothing except both sides have shown signs of positive attitude and certainty of successful outcomes. What does that mean? None if us know. All we can speculate is… they know a lot more than they have said publicly… and obvious things like "desantis is not perpetual…" were clearly obvious to them when they made these choices.

UNCgolf4 days ago

That seems wildly optimistic.

flynnibus4 days ago

“Right now…” Yes, we all know this. But again, we don’t know what back room deal they have setup. Who knows… it could even include new legislation promises… Or Disney is just rolling with the hand they are dealt… maybe they have accepted that the time to sunset their advantages of rcid is here… none of us can tell what their true intentions are right now.