florida gov ron desantis on monday asked a federal court to dismiss the walt disney cos lawsuit against him which claims illegal retaliation over a political dispute in the motion obtained by abc news desantis attorneys argue that he and the secretary of floridas department of economic opportunity are immune from the suit disney is abc news parent company neither the governor nor the secretary enforce any of the laws at issue so disney lacks standing to sue them desantis lawyers write they add that desantis is entitled to legislative immunity which shields both governors and legislators actions in the proposal formulation and passage of legislation desantis himself has contended the suit is without merit i think its political he said in april florida gov ron desantis speaks at the conservative political action conference cpac feb 24 2022 in orlando fla john raouxap file in april disney sued desantis and other florida officials over a campaign that the company alleged was patently retaliatory patently antibusiness and patently unconstitutional disney accused florida of launching a targeted campaign of government retaliation orchestrated at every step by gov desantis as punishment for disneys protected speech which now threatens disneys business operations jeopardizes its economic future in the region and violates its constitutional rights desantis and disney have been at odds since 2022 after the company publicly criticized the parental rights in education law which restricts content concerning sexual orientation and gender identity in some k12 classrooms critics labeled the law dont say gay but supporters of the law say it allows parents to decide what their children can learn about certain subjects republican presidential candidate florida gov ron desantis speaks during a campaign rally on june 26 2023 in eagle pass texas brandon bellgetty images disneys suit states that after the lgbtqrelated law and subsequent controversy desantis moved to take control over the special tax district around disney parks in the orlando area which has allowed the company to essentially selfgovern its operations there the florida legislature voted to dissolve the former board over the district and create a desantisappointed central florida tourism oversight district in its place abc news mark osborne and kiara alfonseca contributed to this report