Disney is asking a judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed by Gov. Ron DeSantis’ tourism oversight board, the latest move in a back-and-forth legal battle that has drawn national attention.

The entertainment giant filed the motion Tuesday in state court in Orlando in response to a lawsuit filed by the DeSantis-appointed Central Florida Tourism Oversight District.

The struggle is over who will control the special district that oversees government services for Disney World. Disney first sued DeSantis, the oversight district and other state officials in federal court, arguing that they had engaged in a “targeted campaign of government retaliation.” Then the DeSantis-appointed board countersued in state court.

In the motion, Disney’s lawyers argue that a new state law seeking to void Disney’s development agreements renders the lawsuit moot. They also say the matter should be handled in federal court.

The Central Florida Tourism Oversight District defended its lawsuit in a prepared statement.

“This motion by Disney is entirely predictable and an acknowledgement they know they will lose this case,” said Alexei Woltornist, a district spokesman.

At the center of the dispute are development agreements approved by the previous Disney-friendly Reedy Creek Improvement District’s board. Those deals seek to put Disney in charge of development, tying the hands of the new DeSantis-appointed board that replaced Reedy Creek.

The new board voted to void the agreements when it took over, and DeSantis signed a law seeking to bolster their authority to undo them.

The DeSantis-Disney dispute started last year after the corporation opposed the Parental Rights in Education Law, which critics called “don’t say gay.”

Disney vowed to get the law repealed and stopped its political contributions in Florida. DeSantis blasted Disney as a “woke” corporation and then moved to strip it of its self-governing status.

sswisher@orlandosentinel.com