A Florida tourism board appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis has hired a Washington litigator with deep Republican ties to fight the Walt Disney Co. in court.
Chuck Cooper is representing the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District in Disney’s lawsuit against the board and DeSantis, according to a recent court filing. The company alleges that DeSantis has retaliated against Disney for opposing a new state law restricting instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity in public schools.
Cooper is a veteran trial lawyer who was a Justice Department official in the Reagan administration. He represented Trump Attorney General Jeff Sessions in inquiries into alleged Russian involvement in the 2016 presidential election and former National Security Advisor John Bolton in a 2019 House impeachment probe.
Cooper joins an already heated political dispute between DeSantis, a possible 2024 Republican White House candidate, and one of the best known companies in the state.
Disney filed the suit in April against DeSantis and the governor-appointed board, which oversees the municipal authority that governs the company’s Florida theme parks.
The lawsuit came after the board voted to void land-use contracts by Disney. The move “threatens Disney’s business operations, jeopardizes its economic future in the region, and violates its constitutional rights,” the company said.
Florida’s Attorney’s General Office is representing DeSantis in the suit. His legal team is pushing to remove US District Judge Mark Walker from the case. They alleged in a May 19 filingthat “the Court’s impartiality in this matter might reasonably be questioned.”
Cooper is a founding member of Cooper & Kirk, a prominent litigation shop that often represents conservative political figures. He was a clerk for former Supreme Court Justice William Rehnquist early in his career.
Disney has also lawyered up with some notable names. Litigators Daniel Petrocelli and Jonathan Hacker of O’Melveny & Myers and Alan Schoenfeld of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale & Dorr are representing the company in the suit.
The feud between Disney and DeSantis first began when Bob Iger, Disney’s chief executive officer, criticized what he called Desantis’ anti-LGBT state policies in a February 2022 tweet.
“Disney expressed its opinion on state legislation and was then punished by the State for doing so,” the company alleges in the suit.
The case is Walt Disney Parks and Resorts v. DeSantis, N.D. Fla., 4:23-00163, 5/19/23
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