The Walt Disney Co. has fired a shot across the bow of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis's campaign against the House of Mouse with a significant victory in a "Don't Say Gay" law investor lawsuit.
Judge Lori Will of the Delaware Court of Chancery on June 27 ruled that Disney did not act negligently when it spoke out against the Parental Rights in Education legislation, or Don't Say Gay law, signed into law by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in March 2022, Disneyland News Today reported.
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Will ruled that there was no evidence that Disney was "grossly negligent or acted in bad faith" or "suffered from disabling conflicts" from their response to the Don't Say Gay law. She said the lawsuit was benefitting conservative non-profit law firm Thomas More Society that was paying Disney investor Kenneth Simone's legal costs, as his lawyer is a special counsel for the Thomas More Society.
Judge Rules in Favor of Disney
"The plaintiff’s counsel and the Thomas More Society are entitled to their beliefs. But a Section 220 suit, which is designed to address the plaintiff’s interests as a stockholder, is not a vehicle to advance them,” Will said.
In December 2022, Simone sued the Walt Disney Co. (DIS) in the Delaware Court of Chancery, alleging that the House of Mouse "created far-reaching financial risks" for the company after responding to the Don't Say Gay bill, signed into law by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in March 2022, WDW News Today reported in December.
In his lawsuit, Simone demanded internal Disney records regarding its response to the Don't Say Gay Bill.
“The financial repercussions from Disney’s actions, and resulting harm to the company and its stockholders, have been swift and severe,” Simone said in court papers. He added that Disney ignored warnings from DeSantis that opposing the law publicly could have severe circumstances.
DeSantis began his war on Disney after then-CEO Bob Chapek spoke out against the Don't Say Gay legislation, HB 1557, just weeks before the governor signed the legislation into law in March 2022. The Florida House of Representatives passed the bill in February 2022, the State Senate approved it and the governor signed it in March 2022. The legislation became law on July 1, 2022.
The right-wing Republican governor, in his war on woke, would later sign another bill dismantling Disney's Reedy Creek Improvement District that governed Disney World's infrastructure, building codes and taxes in the Lake Buena Vista, Fla., area., which was his answer to Disney's opposition to the Don't Say Gay law.
That action by DeSantis led Disney CEO Bob Iger to cancel a $1 billion headquarters project in Florida and threaten to reconsider plans to spend $17 billion on projects at the Disney World Resort.
Disney Goes After DeSantis in Court
Disney has gone on the offensive against DeSantis in court, too. The company in April filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in the Northern District of Florida against DeSantis and a five-member board that replaced the Reedy Creek board over targeting the company in a campaign of retaliation and weaponizing government power against Disney that it described as "patently retaliatory, patently anti-business, and patently unconstitutional."
DeSantis on June 26 filed a motion seeking to dismiss the lawsuit filed against him.
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