The Walt Disney Co. has won dismissal of one of four allegations in a lawsuit by two former employees who sold their Southern California homes and relocated across the country after the company announced it was moving many jobs to a planned new campus in Florida, only to see the entertainment giant drop those plans two years later.
In their proposed class-action lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, Maria De La Cruz and George Fong contend they were told in 2021 that their jobs with Disney in Glendale were being moved from California to Lake Nona, a planned community in Orlando, Florida, and they both sold their homes locally and bought new homes in the Sunshine State.
One of the four claims in the suit was for a state Labor Code statute alleging solicitation of employee by misrepresentation. According to court papers filed by Disney attorneys, the plaintiffs violated the one-year statute of limitations on the claim by filing the suit a month too late.
During a hearing Friday, Judge Lawrence P. Riff agreed with the Disney attorneys and dismissed the cause of action.
“Plaintiffs allege (Disney) induced them to relocate to Florida based upon the misrepresentation that the Lake Nona Project would go forward,” the judge wrote. “Thus, plaintiffs became aware that the nature and condition of their employment at Lake Nona was not as defendant represented no later than May 18, 2023.”
The suit was filed last June 18, more than a year later.
“Critically, plaintiffs concede that Disney announced the cancellation of the Lake Nona project on May 18, 2023, meaning that, at the very least, the statute began to accrue as of that date, 13 months before they filed their complaint,” the Disney lawyers contended in their court papers.
Disney announced in 2021 that it planned to relocate the workers to a new $1 billion office complex it planned to build near Orlando, home to the Walt Disney World Resort. At the time, the company cited Florida’s “business-friendly climate” and its “rich culture of hospitality” and “lower cost of living with no state income tax.”
A short time later, however, Disney became embroiled in a series of battles with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, sparked initially with his signing of legislation in 2022 restricting instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity in early grades. Disney came under fire from critics and some employees for failing to publicly condemn the legislation. That ultimately led to an apology issued by then-CEO Bob Chapek, and the company issued a statement in opposition to the Florida law.
Chapek was fired in late 2022 and replaced by former CEO Bob Iger. Disney later announced it was scrapping plans to relocate the roughly 2,000 workers from California to Florida
The plaintiffs’ lawsuit also alleges intentional misrepresentation, concealment and negligent misrepresentation. The judge gave Disney 20 days to file an answer to those claims.