Disney wants trade secrets kept confidential in lawsuit with DeSantis appointees
ORLANDO, Fla. — Disney wants to keep confidential any proprietary information or trade secrets arising from the state court battle with Governor Ron DeSantis’ appointees over who controls Walt Disney World’s administrative district.
The entertainment giant asked a state court judge on Friday for a protective order allowing documents and statements to be classified as confidential and requiring the parties handling them to sign a non-disclosure agreement.
The lawsuit will likely involve the disclosure of trade secrets, as well as technical, financial and personal information, which could result in “significant harm” if made public, Disney said in its filing. The request was not opposed by DeSantis appointees.
Disney supporters had controlled the district, which provides municipal services such as firefighting, planning and mosquito control, for more than five decades after the Legislature created it in 1967. But legislation passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature and signed by DeSantis transferred control of the district. district board of Disney supporters to DeSantis appointees last year.
Disney said it was in retaliation for the company’s public opposition to the state’s “Don’t Say Gay” law. The 2022 law banned classroom lessons about sexual orientation and gender identity in the early grades and was championed by DeSantis, who had used Disney as a punching bag in speeches on the campaign trail until he recently suspended his campaign for the Republican Party’s 2024 presidential nomination.
Before control of the district transitioned from Disney allies to DeSantis appointees early last year, Disney supporters on the board signed agreements with Disney, shifting control of design and construction at Disney World to the company. DeSantis’ new appointees claimed the “eleventh-hour agreements” had neutralized their powers, and the district sued the company in state court in Orlando to have the contracts annulled.
Disney has filed counterclaims, including asking the state court to declare the agreements valid and enforceable.
In addition, Disney had filed a federal lawsuit against DeSantis and his appointees, claiming that the company’s free speech rights had been violated. A federal judge in Tallahassee dismissed the lawsuit last week, saying Disney lacked credibility in its claims against DeSantis and that its claim against DeSantis’ appointees was without merit.
Disney is appealing the ruling.
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Follow Mike Schneider on X: @MikeSchneiderAP.