The board, in a court filing late Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida, argued that Disney's claims should be settled in state court or dismissed, dubbing the lawsuit"a host of baseless constitutional claims.""Disney's claims should either be held in abeyance and this case stayed pending resolution of state court litigation over the validity of the Development Agreement and Restrictive Covenants or dismissed," the filing said.
"In addition, as explained in more detail below, if the Development Agreement and Restrictive Covenants are void and unenforceable, then Defendants would have a complete defense to Disney’s First Amendment retaliation claims because Disney will have not suffered any adverse action sufficient to support such a claim," the filing added.
Lawyers for the board also argued that Disney has no claims under the contracts, takings, or due process clauses of the U.S. Constitution, nor a claim of retaliation under the First Amendment. Disney has until July 26 to file a response to the defendants' motion to dismiss the lawsuit in federal court.