Disney disagrees with Ron DeSantis’s request to remove the judge in charge of the lawsuit.

Disney Fights Back Against DeSantis’s Attempt to Disqualify Judge in Lawsuit

Disney filed a motion opposing attempts by lawyers for Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) to disqualify Judge Mark Walker from presiding over a pending lawsuit between the two parties in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida.

Disney is not backing down in its legal battle against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. The entertainment giant has filed a motion opposing DeSantis’s attempt to disqualify Judge Mark Walker from presiding over their lawsuit. In a filing on Thursday, Disney’s lawyers accused DeSantis’s legal team of misapprehending the law and misstating the facts.

High Bar for Disqualification

“As this Court, others in the District, and the Eleventh Circuit have emphasized, that standard establishes a high bar to disqualification —otherwise, parties could too easily use § 455(a) to effectively veto judges whose decisions they do not like and shop for a judge more to their liking,” the filing said.

Disney’s lawyers argue that DeSantis’s lawyers have failed to meet the high bar for disqualification. They claim that the two comments cited by DeSantis’s team provide no basis for a reasonable person to perceive any risk that the judge’s mind is closed or that he is incapable of fair and dispassionate inquiry into the legal and factual issues in the case.

Feud Between DeSantis and Disney

The lawsuit was filed by Disney in April, alleging that DeSantis and other Florida officials had pursued a “relentless campaign to weaponize government power against Disney in retaliation for expressing a political viewpoint unpopular with certain State officials.” The feud between DeSantis and Disney began when Disney denounced the Parental Rights in Education Act, which DeSantis signed into law last year. Disney had previously maintained full autonomy over the district since its creation in 1967.

Judge’s Appointment and Pending Motion for Disqualification

Judge Mark Walker was appointed to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida by President Barack Obama in 2012 and has served as the chief judge for the district court since 2018. On Monday, the parties proposed a schedule for the defendants to file a motion to dismiss, along with subsequent responses. However, in a notice on Tuesday, Judge Walker ordered “no action, scheduling or otherwise, in this case until it rules on the pending motion for disqualification.”

Disney is determined to see this lawsuit through and will continue to fight against DeSantis’s attempts to disqualify Judge Walker.

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