The Walt Disney Co has won a lawsuit filed against it by a shareholder who argued that the board acted negligently when it criticized a sexual identity bill signed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. The lawsuit was filed against the company by shareholder Kenneth Simeone in December 2022.
In the lawsuit, Simeone sought Disney’s internal records, including board members’ emails, to investigate possible wrongdoing by directors.
The judge, Lori Will, ruled that the case was improperly directed by a conservative legal group, reported Reuters.
Judge Hill also ruled that Simeone could not use a provision of Delaware corporate law meant to empower shareholders to investigate boardroom wrongdoing to “search for hypothetical conflicts."
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The Court acknowledged that Disney’s criticism of the “Don’t Say Gay” law in 2022 might have been a bad decision. The evidence at trial showed that directors did now allow their personal views to impact the company’s response to the bill, according to a Reuters report.
With this ruling, Disney will not be required to submit the internal records which Simeone requested.
The judge also stated that the lawsuit seemed to have been brought to benefit the Thomas More Society, a non-profit law firm known for advocating conservative causes. The firm covered Simeone’s legal expenses. The judge highlighted that a corporate records lawsuit should not be used as a platform to promote personal beliefs, as per the report.
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“The plaintiff’s counsel and the Thomas More Society are entitled to their beliefs,” and continued that the corporate records lawsuit “is not a vehicle to advance them,” Judge Will wrote.
Disney’s criticism sparked a war of words with DeSantis and resulted in the state removing the company’s control of a special administrative District that promotes development around the Walt Disney World resort.
DeSantis used his battle against what he calls “woke Disney” to improve his national profile. He is seeking the Republican presidential nomination.
