The lawsuit filed last week by Florida taxpayers against the decision by GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis to pass a law revoking Disney's private government was dismissed by a federal judge, WESH 2 News reported.
The lawsuit accused DeSantis and other state officials of violating the constitutional rights of taxpayers, as well as the first amendment rights of Disney, by pushing through legislation designed only to punish the company after its CEO opposed the state's Parental Rights in Education law that prohibits instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade, which critics say marginalizes LGBTQ+ people.
U.S. District Court Judge Cecilia Altonaga wrote that the suit was dismissed due to the federal court's lack of standing over state issues and because the law does not go into effect until July 2023, according to the Florida Sun-Sentinel.
The litigants were worried that, due to the law, local taxpayers will now have to pay for a multitude of services, such as road maintenance and a fire department, that Disney has paid for the past 55 years, Deadline reported.
But Altonaga, who was appointed by George W. Bush, stressed that the plaintiffs based their claim to standing on the supposition that the district's elimination "might result in financial harm to plaintiffs by virtue of a tax increase that has not yet been enacted. That indirect and highly speculative alleged injury cannot support federal jurisdiction. … Again — it is worth emphasizing — the bill does not apply to plaintiffs at all," Fox Business reported.
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