Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis requested that the trial in Disney's civil lawsuit against him start in 2025 — well after the next presidential election.
According to CNBC, attorneys for DeSantis asked for the trial to begin Aug. 4, 2025, which would be more than two years after Disney filed its complaint. A Tuesday filing in Tallahassee federal court reveals that Disney is pushing for the trial to commence on July 15, 2024.
The next U.S. presidential election is scheduled to take place on Nov. 5, 2024.
If the court sides with Disney, the case against DeSantis, which alleges political retaliation, would go to trial on the opening day of the Republican National Convention. The governor is running for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination.
Disney's legal action against DeSantis and other Florida officials is the latest skirmish in a long-running war between the crusading governor and a top Sunshine State employer.
DeSantis took aim at the special tax district that allowed Walt Disney World to self-govern for decades after Disney jumped into the fray and denounced the state's Parental Rights in Education Act.
After DeSantis replaced the members of the district's five-seat board in February, the new members accused Disney of stripping them of power by cutting long-term development deals before they were installed. The DeSantis-supported board then voted to nullify the contracts.
Disney responded by suing, claiming DeSantis waged a "targeted campaign of government retaliation" over the company's speech, which is protected by the First Amendment. The entertainment giant is asking the court to restore the contracts and Disney World's self-governing status.
On Monday, DeSantis' legal team filed a motion to dismiss Disney's lawsuit, arguing that the governor and at least one other defendant are "immune" from the action and that Disney lacks standing to file the complaint, according to CNBC.
DeSantis' lawyers argued that the evidence-sharing process known as discovery should be paused until the bid to dismiss the case is decided; Disney's lawyers opposed that request, arguing that doing so "will cause substantial harm" because of the alleged ongoing political retaliation.
Calling it "premature" to set a case schedule because of their pending efforts to dismiss, attorneys for DeSantis proposed to have discovery completed by Jan. 3, 2025.
Disney reportedly indicated that the process should conclude in 2024.
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