ORLANDO, Fla. — Gov. Ron DeSantis’ legal team wants the trial date for a high-stakes battle with Disney to be in August 2025, well after the presidential election.
Disney’s lawyers have another idea: They want to go to trial on July 15, 2024, the same day as Republicans gather in Milwaukee to formally select their party’s next presidential nominee.
The two sides’ proposals are outlined in a report filed Tuesday in federal court. It’ll be up to a judge to set the timetable.
The suggestions are a routine part of federal lawsuits, but they offer some potential insight into behind-the-scenes political calculations, said Bob Jarvis, a law professor at Nova Southeastern University.
“I have no doubt that DeSantis would prefer not to have to deal with a trial in the midst of the Republican presidential convention. … And I also have no doubt that Disney, knowing the convention’s date, picked July 2024 to make DeSantis squirm,” he said.
Lawyers for DeSantis and his Disney oversight board are requesting a trial date on Aug. 4, 2025, well after voters head to the polls on Election Day on Nov. 5, 2024.
Jeremy Redfern, a DeSantis spokesman, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the filing.
DeSantis has made his quarrel with Disney a centerpiece of his bid for president. He devoted a chapter in his book “The Courage to be Free” to Disney.
But David Jolly, a political analyst critical of the governor, said he thinks DeSantis has overplayed his hand. The issue won’t translate well with general election voters, and his Republican primary challengers have an avenue to attack him for meddling with business, he said.
“For a governor that built his campaign on a slogan of never back down, he sure is running away from this issue,” said Jolly, a former Tampa Bay-area congressman.
Disney filed the federal suit in April, alleging DeSantis and state officials had engaged in a “targeted campaign of government retaliation” because the corporation spoke out against legislation critics called “don’t say gay.” That law limits classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity.
Disney is asking a federal judge to overturn actions taken by DeSantis and the Florida Legislature to take over the Reedy Creek Improvement District, which oversees government services for Disney World.
Lawmakers changed how the district’s board is selected, and DeSantis replaced Disney-friendly members with his political allies. The successor district is now known as the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District.
Earlier this week, lawyers for DeSantis and the oversight district filed briefs trying to scuttle the federal lawsuit.
DeSantis’ tourism oversight district has filed a separate lawsuit in state court. Disney’s lawyers want that suit tossed or postponed until their federal lawsuit is resolved. Lawyers for the district want to proceed in state court.
The tourism oversight district has hired four law firms, including the politically connected Washington, D.C.,-based Cooper & Kirk firm billing $795 an hour for legal work.
As for the scheduling, Jarvis said the proposed trial dates usually don’t mean much and just give the judge an idea of when the sides may be ready to go to trial. The vast majority of lawsuits are settled before they go to trial.
“Judges normally split the baby in half, and so I would not be surprised if the judge set a trial date for early 2025,” Jarvis said.
