Judge Allen Winsor of the U.S. District Court for Northern Florida ruled that Disney “lacks standing to sue the governor” and that the law it was suing over was constitutional. He also noted that the changes lawmakers made to Disney’s former special district “works to Disney’s significant detriment” because “now it faces land use decisions by a board over which it has no control.”
DeSantis’s office celebrated the decision.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Ron DeSantis, a federal judge in Tallahassee dismissed on Wednesday a lawsuit filed by the Walt Disney Co. over the state’s dismantling of the entertainment giant’s special taxing district.
Judge Allen Winsor of the U.S. District Court for Northern Florida ruled that Disney “lacks standing to sue the governor” and that the law it was suing over was constitutional.
“This ruling finally ends Disney’s futile attempts to control its own special government and receive benefits not available to other businesses throughout the state,” DeSantis spokesman Jeremy Redfern said in a statement.
“If left unchallenged, this would set a dangerous precedent and give license to states to weaponize their official powers to punish the expression of political viewpoints they disagree with.”
A group of mostly Republican former governors and other top state officials from around the country filed an amicus brief of support and likened DeSantis’s actions against the company to the way the leaders of China and Russian handle criticism.
The GOP supermajority in the legislature went along with the governor’s push to wipe out the Reedy Creek Improvement District, the special taxing entity that for half a century had managed the land around Disney World near Orlando.
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Has irony ever been listed as a Cause of Death?