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Business

Judge in Disney-DeSantis case steps down, claims conflict over family member’s stock

By
Shannon Thaler
Published June 2, 2023, 9:06 a.m. ET

The federal judge overseeing Walt Disney’s lawsuit against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has removed himself from the case — claiming that he has a conflict because a family member owns stock in the media giant.

Judge Mark E. Walker, the chief judge for the US District Court for the Northern District of Florida, said he will no longer preside over the case because “a relative within the third degree” — meaning it could be Walker’s great grandchildren, first cousin or great-aunt, for example — owns 30 shares of the Mouse House.

The case will now go before Judge Allen Winsor, a Republican who was nominated to the bench in 2019 by DeSantis’ GOP rival President Donald Trump.

“I do not think it likely that the outcome of this litigation would substantially affect The Walt Disney Company’s share price,” Walker said in the late Thursday filing.

“I choose to err on the side of caution — which, here, is also the side of judicial integrity — and disqualify myself,” he added.

He insisted in the court documents that he made the decision to leave the case because of his “ethical obligations,” and not because of DeSantis’ efforts to disqualify him.

Judge Mark E. Walker has stepped down from presiding over Disney's lawsuit against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis because a relative owns 30 shares in Mouse House stock.
Judge Mark E. Walker has stepped down from presiding over Disney’s lawsuit against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis because a relative owns 30 shares in Mouse House stock. Tallahassee Democrat-USA TODAY NETWORK

DeSantis filed a motion on May 19 in Tallahassee federal court to remove Walker from the case, citing bias after the judge reportedly referred to the Disney-DeSantis lawsuit during hearings for other free speech cases.

“In fact, I find the motion is nothing more than rank judge-shopping,” Walker, who President Barack Obama nominated to the federal bench in 2012 and is now chief of the district, added in the filing.

Walker previously ruled against DeSantis in 2022 — when he tossed a First Amendment lawsuit filed by Florida professors that challenged a new law establishing a survey about “intellectual freedom and viewpoint diversity” on state campuses.

Walker has been overseeing the First Amendment lawsuit filed by Disney against the Florida governor since the theme park’s feud with DeSantis began in late April.

DeSantis' year-long feud with Disney started when the media company opposed the governor's "Don’t Say Gay" law, which bans teachers from talking about sexual orientation and gender for all public school students.
DeSantis’ year-long feud with Disney started when the media company opposed the governor’s “Don’t Say Gay” law, which bans teachers from talking about sexual orientation and gender for all public school students. Kyle Mazza/SOPA Images/Shutterstock

The lawsuit alleges that DeSantis and his appointees violated the company’s right to free speech, as well as the contracts clause, after he dissolved the company’s longtime special tax district overseeing its Orlando-area theme parks.

The scrapped Reedy Creek District had previously been controlled by Disney supporters after Disney opposed Florida legislation that critics have dubbed “Don’t Say Gay,” which bans teachers from talking about sexual orientation and gender for all public school students.

The district is now overseen by the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, which DeSantis has equipped with longtime allies that voted to adopt a code enforcement program where park attractions will be subject to fines of up to $500 a day.

DeSantis — who announced his 2024 presidential candidacy on May 24 via a botched Twitter Spaces event — has publicly said there’s a “zero” chance the state will back down in its fight against Disney.

“They’re going to live under the same laws as everybody else. They’re going to pay their fair share of taxes and they’re not going to govern themselves. We the people are going to govern, and to put one corporation on a pedestal and let them be exempt from the laws is not good policy,” DeSantis said while speaking to a crowd of New Hampshire voters last month.

In retaliation, Disney pulled the plug on a nearly $900 million development project in Florida that would have brought 2,000 high-paying jobs to the state.

DeSantis has scrapped Disney's Reedy Creek District -- a special tax district that oversees the Orlando-area theme parks -- and instead tapped the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District to govern the parks.
DeSantis has scrapped Disney’s Reedy Creek District — a special tax district that oversees the Orlando-area theme parks — and instead tapped the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District to govern the parks. AFP via Getty Images

Employees were set to relocate from California to the Florida campus — located in the Lake Nona region about 20 miles from the Magic Kingdom — but were informed that the project was halted in an email from Josh D’Amaro, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts chairperson, last month.

The jobs, some as Disney characters and “Imagineers,” had an average salary of $120,000, according to an estimate from the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity.

Disney currently employs more than 75,000 people in the Orlando area.

“Does the state want us to invest more, employ more people, and pay more taxes, or not?” Disney CEO Robert Iger said on an earnings-related conference call with analysts in mid-May.