Disney's (DIS) high-profile legal battle with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis escalated late Monday when Florida's attorney general filed a motion to dismiss an April lawsuit from the entertainment giant.

Disney had alleged in federal court that DeSantis and other officials punished the company for its stance on a parental rights bill when the state stripped the company of power it held for 55 years to self-govern a special tax district that houses Walt Disney World.

The argument made Monday by Florida state attorney general Ashley Moody was that the federal court in Tallahassee has no jurisdiction over DeSantis and the secretary for the state's Department of Economic Opportunity.

Moody says DeSantis and the secretary are protected from Disney's claims under the doctrine of legislative immunity, which insulates lawmakers from litigation over actions taken within their "sphere of legislative activity."

The US Constitution's 11th Amendment also bars federal litigation against the two, Moody says. The Amendment generally blocks federal-court suits against a state.

Disney vs. DeSantis

The dispute between Disney and DeSantis started about a year ago when Disney opposed a parental rights bill in Florida that prohibited educators from leading classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity. Opponents labeled the bill “Don’t Say Gay.”

The law forbids instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity from kindergarten through third grade.

In 2022, then-Disney CEO Bob Chapek condemned this law at the company's annual shareholder meeting after initially deciding not to speak publicly on the matter.

In response, DeSantis signed a bill into law that allows him to take control of the company's long-standing special tax district, formerly known as Reedy Creek.

Florida’s legislature then passed a series of bills that stripped the company of its power to self-govern the special tax district that is home to its Walt Disney World resort and roughly 25,000 acres surrounding it. The new laws throttle Disney's authority over the parcel, dismantling a five-person, Disney-appointed body known as the Board of Supervisors that oversaw the area, then known as the Reedy Creek Improvement District (RCID). DeSantis appointed five new people to call the shots as part of a Central Florida Tourism Oversight District.

Disney argues in the lawsuit that DeSantis, the secretary, and members of the replacement board violated the company's constitutional rights by taking its property without just compensation and that it was punished for its stance on the parental rights law.

Disney's First Amendment right to speak freely without repercussions was violated, the company also claimed, when DeSantis retaliated by taking away control of the Walt Disney World tax district.

The governor's hand-selected Central Florida Tourism Oversight District board launched a countersuit against Disney shortly after its initial complaint, citing "backroom deals" favorable to the media giant.

Attorneys for members of the new board also filed a motion asking the court to dismiss the suit, or at least to abstain from deciding the matter until its unsettled questions of state law have been resolved. They also said the case belongs in state rather than federal court and that Disney's last-minute development agreement and restrictive covenants were never valid under Florida law.

A court document filed Monday by the state's attorney general argued that the Disney-controlled board had sweeping government-like authority to take private property for "public use," annex territory inside and outside its district’s borders, and even build and operate an airport or nuclear power plant.

'Does the state want us to invest more...or not?'

Disney CEO Bob Iger has consistently defended the company's actions and denounced DeSantis's practices on multiple occasions.

"Does the state want us to invest more, employ more people, and pay more taxes, or not?" he said on Disney’s second-quarter conference call last month.

Disney and the governor's office did not immediately respond to Yahoo Finance's request for comment.

The governor's office previously told Yahoo Finance that Disney's moves showcase a "desperate attempt to maintain their special privileges and ignore the will of Floridians as expressed through their duly elected representatives."

Alexandra is a Senior Reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter @alliecanal8193 and email her at alexandra.canal@yahoofinance.com

Alexis Keenan is a legal reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow Alexis on Twitter @alexiskweed.

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