On Thursday, July 4, 2024, MyNewsLA.com reported that a judge in Los Angeles had removed herself from a lawsuit filed against The Walt Disney Company.
The lawsuit was brought forward by two former Disney product design team members, Maria De La Cruz of Altadena and George Fong of South Pasadena. De La Cruz and Fong had sued Disney, alleging that the entertainment giant had coerced them and other colleagues into relocating from Southern California to Orlando.
The case was originally assigned to Judge Carolyn Kuhl of the Los Angeles Superior Court. However, on June 25th Judge Kuhl removed herself from the case after determining that her daughter was employed by Disney. As her daughter worked for the defendant company, her impartiality may have been compromised so she recused herself to avoid any potential conflict of interest.
Following Judge Kuhl’s recusal, the case was reassigned within the Los Angeles Superior Court. On Wednesday, July 3rd, Supervising Judge David S. Cunningham III transferred the proceedings to Judge Lawrence P. Riff. A status conference between both legal teams involved was scheduled for September 20th to chart further steps.
In their lawsuit filed on June 18th, De La Cruz and Fong alleged that Disney had misrepresented certain facts which led to them relocating to Orlando in 2021. The company had reportedly asked them to move to the planned community of Lake Nona, promising affordable housing, good schools, and a new office with many benefits. Relying on these assurances, both plaintiffs sold their California homes and purchased new residences in Orlando in 2022.
However, according to the suit, Disney’s project was subsequently canceled in 2023, leaving De La Cruz and Fong in a difficult financial and residential situation due to increased home prices in Orlando. They claimed Disney’s original relocation requests constituted concealment and misrepresentation of key details.
Source: MyNewsLA.com
