A federal judge has backed down on a case Walt Disney World brought against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis last month — but not before accusing the Republican presidential nominee of “rank judge shopping.”
In a ruling late Thursday evening, Judge Mark E. Walker, the chief judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida, said he would no longer preside over the politically contentious case.
He denied the move was related to Florida governor attorneys seeking to disqualify him from the case over comments he made last year about DeSantis’ actions against Disney.
Instead, Walker claimed he made the decision to drop out of the business after discovering that one of his relatives owns stock in the House of Mouse. The judge then called DeSantis’ team’s legal objections “judge shopping.”
The company has alleged in federal court documents that Florida’s Republican governor and Tourism Oversight Board “weaponized” their power to impose political punishment.
In a ruling late Thursday night, Judge Mark E. Walker, the chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida, (pictured) said he would no longer preside over a case Walt Disney World brought against the governor of Florida. Florida, Ron DeSantis.
In his ruling, the judge accuses the Republican presidential candidate of ‘rank judge shopping’ after his lawyers wanted to disqualify him
Attorneys for the Republican governor have argued that Walker’s comments last year in unrelated cases, which were made while asking hypothetical questions, “could reasonably be construed as reflecting the court’s anticipation of Disney’s retaliation theory here, and therefore raise significant doubts about the impartiality of the court.’
But in his ruling on Thursday, Walker denied those claims, noting that he raised DeSantis’ dealings with Disney in a case “that concerned the motivations of political actors (including some of the same actors here).”
“Defendants choose the language of these cases to support their position without acknowledging the fully distinct context underlying each decision,” the Obama-appointed judge wrote.
He argued that the quoted comments “cannot cast substantial doubt on my impartiality in the mind of a fully informed, disinterested layman.”
Walker went so far as to dismiss the motion as “nothing more than ranking of judges,” claiming that “this practice has become all too common in this district.”
“However, defendants got one thing right,” he continued. “That is, if a judge is in doubt as to whether disqualification is required, he must resolve those doubts in favor of disqualification.”
He then shared that he learned last week that a family member owns 30 shares of Disney stock, and because Disney lawyers claim DeSantis’ alleged retaliation against the company could affect its revenue stream, he decided to step aside.
“While I believe it is highly unlikely that this proceeding will have a substantial effect on The Walt Disney Company, I choose to err on the side of caution — whatever the judicial integrity side here — and disqualify myself,” Walker wrote.
“Maintaining public confidence in the judiciary is of the utmost importance, perhaps more than at any time in the history of our Republic,” he said.
Walker concluded by saying, “I am confident that my colleagues in this Court can preside over the remainder of this case and judge it fairly and wisely.”
The case has been turned over to Judge Allen C. Winsor, who former President Trump says has been appointed to the court. New York Times.
Disney last month filed suit against DeSantis and Florida’s Tourism Oversight Board, accusing them of “weaponizing” their political power by scrapping a deal that would have allowed the company to take control of the Reedy Creek Improvement district to preserve
The Reedy Creek Improvement District spans nearly 40 square miles and includes the entire Walt Disney World Resort. Area is renamed the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District and includes a new DeSantis-appointed five-member board
Lawyers for the House of Mouse filed a lawsuit against DeSantis last month after his five-member board voted to void an agreement that would preserve Disney’s control of Reedy Creek, home to Disney World and Walt Disney World resorts.
Since 1967, Disney has controlled the ownership and decisions of the virtually self-governing Reedy Creek Improvement District.
Federal Judge Allen C. Winsor (pictured) will now preside over the case
But DeSantis has argued that the company should not be given special privileges and has stripped the company of its autonomy in the region.
“For more than half a century, Disney has had an immeasurable impact on Florida and its economy, making Central Florida one of the world’s top tourist destinations and drawing tens of millions of visitors to the state each year,” the lawsuit reads.
“People and families from all corners of the world have traveled to Walt Disney World for the unparalleled guest experience it provides and the deep emotional connection generations of fans have with Disney’s timeless stories and characters,” it continues.
“A targeted campaign of government retaliation — orchestrated every step of the way 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.”
The lawyers alleged that the Florida government failed to properly inform the company that it was voiding the company’s deals, and that procedures were not followed.
But in a statement to DailyMail.com, DeSantis communications director Taryn Fenske dismissed the lawsuit as “another unfortunate example of their hopes to undermine the will of Florida voters and operate outside the bounds of the law.”
She added that the Florida governor’s team “is not aware of any legal right a corporation has to run its own government or maintain special privileges not held by other corporations in the state.” ‘
During a campaign stop in New Hampshire last month, DeSantis vowed he would not back down in his fight against the House of Mouse
Florida’s governor has since vowed not to back down in his fight against Disney.
Addressing a crowd of potential voters in New Hampshire last month, he said, “They want to have their own government at Disney, they’ve had their own government for 50 years. It’s tremendous business prosperity, and we’re not going to do that.”
‘They will live under the same laws as everyone else. They are going to pay their fair share of taxes and they are not going to govern themselves. We the people are going to rule, and to put one company on a pedestal and exempt them from the laws is not good policy,” he said.
It’s not a free market economy. And it’s not something our state will be involved in. And so we’re not going to change that. They can do whatever they want. I know people try to chirp and say this or that. The chance that we fall back on that is zero.’