A sign is seen near the entrance to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla., on May 22, 2023.
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The federal judge overseeing Disney’s civil free speech lawsuit against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis recused himself from the case on Thursday, days after learning that one of his relatives had walt disney company.
The case will be taken up by Judge Alan Windsor, appointed by former President Donald Trump, according to court briefs. Trump will run against DeSantis for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.
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Despite denying DeSantis’ motion to disbar him, Judge Mark Walker decided to remove himself from the case. Lawyers for the governor and the other defendants argued that Walker’s remarks in the separate lawsuit raised questions about his impartiality in the Disney case.
Walker, appointed to the bench by former President Barack Obama, called the governor’s arguments “baseless” in a court filing in U.S. District Court in Tallahassee, Florida. But he still concluded in the same filing that he must disqualify himself “for reasons unrelated to defendant’s baseless motion.”
Walker said he learned Friday that “a third degree relative owns 30 shares” of Disney’s parent company. The judge said he launched an investigation into the matter and ultimately “determined that the circumstances warrant disqualification from this proceeding.”
Disney shares closed at $88.59 on Thursday. At that price, the 30 shares total about $2,658.
But Walker said that under his bound judicial code of conduct, “the size or amount of a third-degree relative’s financial interest is irrelevant.”
Even if a relative owns only one share of stock, the judicial statute “clearly states that disqualification depends on the impact on the third-degree relative’s investment — not the amount invested,” Walker wrote.
The judge wrote that Disney’s allegations made clear that the case “involves a significant financial interest in its parent company, stock in which my third-degree relatives own.”
Disney alleges that DeSantis led a campaign of political retaliation against the company after the company publicly denounced the controversial classroom bill, which critics have dubbed “Don’t Talk Gay.” Retaliation against Walt Disney World’s special tax jurisdiction and its recent development deal, including from DeSantis and his allies, has threatened Disney’s business, the company said.
“While I believe it is highly unlikely that these lawsuits will have a significant impact on The Walt Disney Company, I choose to proceed with caution — which is also the side of justice — and to disqualify myself,” Walker wrote.
“Maintaining the public’s trust in the judiciary is vital, perhaps more so now than at any time in the history of our republic,” the judge wrote.
Walker’s development is the latest in a long-running feud between DeSantis and Disney, one of Florida’s largest employers.
The Republican-majority Florida legislature voted in April 2022, weeks after Disney, under then-CEO Bob Chapek, came out against the classroom bill and vowed to help repeal it. Dissolution of the special tax district that had allowed the corporation to effectively govern its Florida operations since the 1960s.
The district ended up intact, but its board was replaced with members handpicked by DeSantis.
Disney filed the lawsuit after the board voted to cancel a development deal the company struck shortly before a new board took office. The board has countersued in state court. Disney has asked to dismiss the case.