Summary of "[#Disney]’s Motion to Dismiss [#CFTOD]’s Amended Complaint as Moot or, in the Alternative, to Stay this Action."

❝[#SB1604] renders Plaintiff’s complaint moot because it makes any order this Court could issue—in either party’s favor—legally irrelevant. If the Court rejects the board’s claims on their merits and agrees with Disney that the contracts complied with any procedural and substantive requirements of state law, the board would still be prohibited from complying with them under the new state statute. For the same reason, even if the Court found merit in the board’s objections to the contracts, any order to that effect would be pointless because the contracts would already be void under the new state statute. In short, any declaration about the contracts’ enforceability, voidness, or validity—either way—would be an advisory opinion with no real-world consequence. Trial courts in #Florida are forbidden from issuing advisory opinions, and this case should be dismissed.

❝In the alternative, Florida law requires that the Court stay this litigation until Disney’s federal action resolves. Disney’s earlier-filed and earlier-served federal action is pending between substantially the same parties, and it involves substantially overlapping issues. In these circumstances, controlling precedents provide that the Court lacks discretion to proceed with this case. Disney regrets that it is compelled to litigate these issues anywhere, but the federal action is the proper vehicle for first hearing the parties’ dispute.

So regarding deadlines in #Disney v. #DeSantis (and #CFTOD) ...

Disney has perfected service upon defendants in the Federal case, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts U.S. Inc. v. DeSantis (4:23-cv-00163) District Court, N.D. Florida with a response required by 2023/05/22

In the state case of Central Florida Tourism Oversight District v. Walt Disney Parks and Resorts U.S. Inc., (2023-CA-011818-O, Ninth District, Orange County, Orlando) which was filed on 2023/05/01 the general practice is that Disney would have 20 (not 21) days to respond after being served. The clerk issued a summons on 2023/05/03 so even if the Leon County Sheriff served the summons on the same day, no response would be required until 2023/05/23.

The Florida Legislature has approved #SB1604 to purportedly retroactively cancel the #RCID contracts made before the CFTOD takeover. Unlike the rest of the bill, section 4 is supposed to take effect immediately after becoming law. This just indicates that they didn't bother to study any of the constitutional issues raised by Disney.

https://xkcd.com/1657/