In DeSantis’s Florida, He’s Entitled to “Absolute Legislative Immunity”

The Florida Governor has officially acted on his previously stated intent to file a motion to dismiss the lawsuit filed by the Walt Disney Company.

The feud between Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Walt Disney Company has become one of the most talked about and widely reported back-and-forths between a mega-corporation and a state government. What began over DeSantis taking Disney to task for former Disney CEO Bob Chapek speaking out against the “Don’t Say Gay” bill soon escalated to the dismantling of the Reedy Creek Improvement District board (complete with DeSantis’s hand-picked replacements). That has now become lawsuits (and countersuits) filed by both parties as well.

The battle has well and truly gone on for over a year, and it’s not over yet.

Related: DeSantis Finally Addresses Neo Nazis Outside Disney World, Calling it a Media ‘Farce’

As of Monday, June 26, Governor DeSantis has acted on his previously stated intent to file a motion to dismiss the federal lawsuit the Walt Disney Company brought forth. Per a document shared on Twitter by journalist Scott Gustin, it’s now apparent what the state’s claim is with regard to grounds for dismissal of Disney’s lawsuit.

As Gustin succinctly put forth, the Walt Disney Company claimed that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis orchestrated a “campaign of government retaliation” after the “Don’t Say Gay” debacle and therefore violated the company’s free speech.

The state’s claim for why the lawsuit should be dismissed includes the following,

Disney’s attempts to link the State Defendants to those laws are unpersuasive. Disney mainly focuses on the Governor’s role in signing [the laws] but…signing a law is not “enforcing” a law…and the Governor is entitled to absolute legislative immuniy for that act in any event.

DeSantis is asking judge to dismiss Disney's lawsuit.

Disney's claim is DeSantis orchestrated a "campaign of government retaliation" against the company and violated its protected speech.

The state's claim — DeSantis is entitled to "absolute legislative immunity." https://t.co/W88N96MvS0 pic.twitter.com/uLuKW7T4Yu

— Scott Gustin (@ScottGustin) June 26, 2023

For any who are unfamiliar with the term “absolute legislative immunity,” as defined by Cornell University, it is

A legal doctrine that protects legislators from being sued for all actions taken in the sphere of legitimate legislative activity. The purpose of legislative immunity is to ensure that the legislative function may be performed independently without fear of outside interference.

Of course, the point of contention here is that DeSantis’s laws were not, in fact, legitimate legislative activity, as Disney alleges the state was punishing them for utilizing free speech.

In the meanwhile, this hasn’t been an easy time for the House of Mouse either, with their recent Supreme Court loss and rough tidings from the box office. It will undoubtedly be interesting to see how this whole situation plays out for both parties—one that’s trying hard to rehabilitate its image and finances, and the other that’s running to be President of the United States.