Attorneys for the Walt Disney Co. are seeking dismissal of one of the four allegations in a lawsuit by two former employees who sold their Southern California homes and relocated across the country when 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 submitted last June 18 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 is for a state Labor Code statute alleging solicitation of employee by misrepresentation. According to court papers filed by Disney attorneys on Friday, the plaintiffs violated the one-year statute of limitations on the claim by filing the suit a month too late.
“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 contend in their court papers.
The plaintiffs’ own complaint makes plain that they had reason to suspect the alleged wrongdoing more than one year before they filed suit, the Disney attorneys further maintain in their pleadings.
In a sworn declaration, Disney attorney Molly M. Lens says that when she asked one of the plaintiffs’ attorneys about the late filing, he replied that the delayed discovery ruled applied in his clients’ case because his clients remained uncertain about the cancellation’s impact on their careers, including potential relocation and compensation for losses.
If a judge agrees with their attorney, De La Cruz and Fong could overcome the statute of limitations. A hearing is scheduled March 13.
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.
Countering Disney’s public criticisms, DeSantis began publicly blasting the Burbank-based entertainment conglomerate and started an effort to crack down on Disney’s operations by stripping away self-governing privileges that were granted to the company’s theme park property more than 50 years ago.
In 2023, Disney filed a federal lawsuit against DeSantis, accusing him of orchestrating a “government retaliation” campaign against the company that threatened its business operations. That litigation has since been resolved.
However, a month after the lawsuit was filed, Disney announced it was scrapping plans to relocate the roughly 2,000 workers from California to Florida
Josh D’Amaro, chairman of the company’s Parks, Experiences and Products Division, broke the news in an email sent to employees. D’Amaro did not mention DeSantis by name or give specifics behind the decision, citing only “changing business conditions.”
“Given the considerable changes that have occurred since the announcement of this project, including new leadership and changing business conditions, we have decided not to move forward with construction of the (Florida) campus,” he wrote at the time.
“This was not an easy decision to make, but I believe it is the right one. As a result, we will no longer be asking our employees to relocate. For those who have already moved, we will talk to you individually about your situation, including the possibility of moving you back,” D’Amaro added.
The lawsuit contends that the plaintiffs and other workers were left uncertain about the future of their jobs, saying they “began to have concerns that their job security at Disney would be threatened if they did not return to California to work in Disney’s California offices.”
The suit also noted that after Disney’s announcement, housing prices in the Florida area of the planned company development “dropped significantly.”
“Meanwhile, home prices in the Los Angeles, California area had increased significantly between the summer of 2022 and the summer of 2023,” the lawsuit states. “Mortgage rates had also increased significantly, making it impossible for plaintiffs and other similarly situated individuals to obtain housing comparable to the homes they had sold in connection with the transfer of their roles to (Florida).”
The lawsuit also alleges intentional misrepresentation, concealment and negligent misrepresentation.