DeSantis’ attorneys argued that Judge Mark Walker should recuse himself from the case because of comments he made in two separate cases involving the governor and the entertainment corporation, Disney.
Disney, which has been falling out with DeSantis since the previous year, when the firm came out against his bill that critics have mentioned, “Don’t Say Gay,” responded that the litigants’ argument failed to meet the legal standard for debarment.
Further, Disney’s lawyers argued in a court filing that “Judges are not prohibited from referring accurately to widely-reported news events during oral arguments, nor must they disqualify themselves if cases related to those events happen to come before them months later.”
“Disqualification is allowed only if the prior comments expose an incapacity on the judge’s part to consider the new case on its own merits,” the lawyers went on to say, adding that the judge’s words “come nowhere close to that standard.”
Disney’s lawsuit states that DeSantis “orchestrated at every step” a campaign to punish the firm for speaking out against a Florida bill limiting classroom discussion of gender recognition and sexual orientation.
Affirming the scheme now threatens the firms’ business, Disney alleges.
Bob Iger, CEO of entertainment giant Disney, said during the firm’s earnings call previously this month that “the case that we filed last month made our position and the facts very clear.”
“And that’s really that this is about one thing and one thing only, and that’s retaliating against us for taking a position about pending legislation,” he added.
The attempt to have Walker removed as the judge in Disney’s legal case in U.S. District Court in Tallahassee, Florida, occurred only days before DeSantis announced his presidential campaign for 2024. The governor, who is often seen as former President Donald Trump’s major rival for the Republican nomination, has received national attention for his involvement in a number of political disputes.
However, the long-running fight between the assertive politician and one of his state’s top employers divulged into the courts after the governor’s handpicked officials voted to cancel Disney’s development deals for its Orlando-area theme parks.
In late April, Disney filed its lawsuit after the new board of its special district voted to redo development contracts that the firm mentioned it struck to safeguard its investments.
Since this case, the company has merely updated that lawsuit, including newly passed legislation targeting its people mover system as further evidence of retaliation by the administrator.
Furthermore, DeSantis’ next move was to replace Walker. Walker, on the other hand, was nominated by then-President Barack Obama to serve as a judge on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida in 2012.
Walker ruled against the state in 2018 and ordered then-Governor Rick Scott to restore convicts’ voting rights after their release from jail.
That same year, he also ordered the Florida Department of Corrections to continue bestowing a transgender woman prisoner with hormone treatment and conferring her with women’s undergarments and several other grooming products. However, the prisoner, who was diagnosed with gender dysphoria, was housed in a male-oriented disciplinary facility.
Eventually, representatives for DeSantis did not instantly reply to CNBC’s request for further comments.
- Published By Team Genuine Reporter