Disney Parks and Resorts said it will appeal a recent federal court ruling dismissing the company’s free-speech lawsuit against Gov. Ron DeSantis, the state Department of Economic Opportunity secretary and members of the special district overseeing Disney.

Judge Allen Winsor of the Northern District of Florida rejected Disney’s lawsuit on Jan. 31, concluding the company’s claim that its opposition to a state bill restricting instruction about transgender and sexual identity issues led to retaliation. Disney had shown that it had standing to sue the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District (CFTOD) but failed to justify its other allegations, Winsor said in his opinion.

“In short, Disney lacks standing to sue the governor or the secretary, and its claims against the CFTOD defendants fail on the merits because ‘when a statute is facially constitutional, a plaintiff cannot bring a free-speech challenge by claiming that the lawmakers who passed it acted with a constitutionally impermissible purpose,’” the opinion states.