Ron DeSantis asked a federal judge to toss the lawsuit filed against him by Walt Disney Co. in their ongoing battle over the company’s special tax status in the state, claiming that the Florida governor “is entitled to legislative immunity,” according to a court filing.
The Monday court motion claims that both DeSantis and Meredith Ivey — the former acting secretary of the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity — have immunity under the law from Disney’s claims and therefore cannot be held responsible for the alleged harms Disney is suing for.
“So Disney lacks standing to sue them,” the court filing says.
In the Mouse House’s original suit, it named both DeSantis and Ivey, claiming the officials worked together to disband Reedy Creek Improvement District, the theme park’s special tax district, amid Disney’s public backlash of the governor’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
The Reedy Creek was replaced with the five-person Central Florida Tourism District Board, which is packed with DeSantis allies.
DeSantis previously argued that the Mouse House executed a “backroom deal” to land a “sweetheart deal with the state” to establish Reedy Creek, which allows Disney to self-govern its 25,000 acres, including levy extra taxes.
Monday’s court filing goes on to say that Disney has too long enjoyed the benefits of this special tax district, which it said gave the theme park “unprecendented power to govern itself.”
It’s “a clear case of corporate capture as this court is ever likely to see,” the court documents said.
Representatives for Disney and DeSantis did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
The motion to dismiss the case is just the latest in a running battle that began last March, when Disney filed the first of many warring lawsuits in federal court.
The Mouse House claimed DeSantis violated Disney’s First Amendment rights by using his political power for “government retaliation.”
In May, the same week DeSantis filed a motion a motion to remove US District Judge Mark Walker from presiding over the case, the governor announced his bid for the White House.
The Barack Obama-appointed judge removed himself a week later, claiming “a relative within the third degree” — meaning it could be Walker’s great grandchildren, first cousin or great-aunt, for example — owns 30 shares of Disney.
The case will is now before Judge Allen Winsor, a Republican who was nominated to the bench in 2019 by DeSantis’ GOP rival President Donald Trump.
All the while, Disney scrapped its plans to build a $900 million campus in Florida that would have brought 2,000 high-paying jobs to the state.
“Does the state want us to invest more, employ more people, and pay more taxes, or not?” Disney boss Robert Iger said on an earnings-related conference call with analysts ahead of pulling the plug on the development project.
The campus was originally planned to be located in the Lake Nona region — about 20 miles from the Magic Kingdom.
It would have been home to 2,000 workers relocated from Disney’s California theme park.
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