Steven Gibbons v. Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, Inc.

CourtCourt of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
DecidedJuly 2, 2025
Docket24-11148
StatusUnpublished

This text of Steven Gibbons v. Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, Inc. (Steven Gibbons v. Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Steven Gibbons v. Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, Inc., (11th Cir. 2025).

Opinion

USCA11 Case: 24-11146 Document: 47-1 Date Filed: 07/02/2025 Page: 1 of 20

[DO NOT PUBLISH] In the United States Court of Appeals For the Eleventh Circuit

____________________

No. 24-11146 Non-Argument Calendar ____________________

ADAM PAJER, Plaintiff-Appellant, versus THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY, et al.,

Defendants,

DISNEY PARKS, EXPERIENCES AND PRODUCTS, INC., WALT DISNEY PARKS AND RESORTS U.S. INC, REEDY CREEK IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT, USCA11 Case: 24-11146 Document: 47-1 Date Filed: 07/02/2025 Page: 2 of 20

2 Opinion of the Court 24-11146

Defendants-Appellees.

Appeals from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida D.C. Docket No. 6:23-cv-00254-ACC-EJK ____________________

No. 24-11147 Non-Argument Calendar ____________________

STEPHEN CRIBB, Plaintiff-Appellant, versus THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY, et al.,

DISNEY PARKS, EXPERIENCES AND PRODUCTS, INC., DISNEY VACATION CLUB MANAGEMENT, LLC, USCA11 Case: 24-11146 Document: 47-1 Date Filed: 07/02/2025 Page: 3 of 20

24-11146 Opinion of the Court 3

Appeals from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida D.C. Docket No. 6:23-cv-00250-ACC-EJK ____________________

No. 24-11148 Non-Argument Calendar ____________________

STEVEN GIBBONS, Plaintiff-Appellant, versus THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY, et al.,

DISNEY PARKS, EXPERIENCES AND PRODUCTS, INC., WALT DISNEY PARKS AND RESORTS U.S. INC, REEDY CREEK IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT, USCA11 Case: 24-11146 Document: 47-1 Date Filed: 07/02/2025 Page: 4 of 20

4 Opinion of the Court 24-11146

Appeals from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida D.C. Docket No. 6:23-cv-00255-ACC-EJK ____________________

No. 24-11160 Non-Argument Calendar ____________________

SETH SCHMIDT, Plaintiff-Appellant, versus THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY, et al.,

DISNEY PARKS, EXPERIENCES AND PRODUCTS, INC., WALT DISNEY PARKS AND RESORTS U.S. INC, REEDY CREEK IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT, USCA11 Case: 24-11146 Document: 47-1 Date Filed: 07/02/2025 Page: 5 of 20

24-11146 Opinion of the Court 5

Appeals from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida D.C. Docket No. 6:23-cv-00257-ACC-EJK ____________________

Before BRANCH, BRASHER, and ANDERSON, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM: Adam Pajer, Stephen Cribb, Steven Gibbons, and Seth Schmidt were each terminated by their respective Disney-affiliated employer after refusing to comply with Disney’s COVID-19 proto- cols, which applied to unvaccinated employees. The employees al- leged that their terminations violated multiple state and federal statutes. They sued Disney-affiliated and non-affiliated companies: Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, Inc., Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, U.S., Inc., and Disney Vacation Club Management, LLC (collectively referred hereinafter as “Disney”). The district court dismissed the employees’ complaints for failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, and the employees ap- pealed. After careful consideration of the record and the parties’ arguments, we affirm. USCA11 Case: 24-11146 Document: 47-1 Date Filed: 07/02/2025 Page: 6 of 20

6 Opinion of the Court 24-11146

I.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Disney adopted safety protocols requiring employees to wear masks and socially distance. In July 2021, Disney instituted a policy requiring employees to re- ceive the COVID-19 vaccine. Later that year, on November 19, the Florida legislature passed a law forbidding non-public employer- enforced vaccine mandates, dubbed “vaccinate or terminate” poli- cies. Disney responded to the new law by pausing enforcement of the vaccine mandate. Although Disney stopped enforcing its mandate, Disney still required that employees report their vaccination status. Employees who failed to report their vaccination status were treated as unvac- cinated. And Disney instituted additional “Augmented Health & Safety Protocols,” which required unvaccinated employees to fol- low isolation, social distancing, and masking procedures. All four employees were treated as unvaccinated by Disney and required to follow the additional isolation, social distancing, and masking pro- tocols. The employees asked for a religious exemption from Dis- ney’s July 2021 vaccine mandate. But, after suspending the man- date in November 2021, Disney informed them that it would not evaluate pending requests for vaccine mandate exemptions. The employees’ religious exemption requests were submitted between August and October 2021. No substantive response was obtained to any of the requests. USCA11 Case: 24-11146 Document: 47-1 Date Filed: 07/02/2025 Page: 7 of 20

24-11146 Opinion of the Court 7

The employees objected to the Augmented Protocols in var- ious forms. But the employees did not request any exemption from the Augmented Protocols. Ultimately, the employees were termi- nated for their unwillingness to comply with the Augmented Pro- tocols. The employees filed their respective complaints on Febru- ary 14, 2023. In response, Disney moved to dismiss the employees’ complaints under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) on March 27, 2023. The district court granted each motion to dismiss. Counts III-VII, the religious discrimination and retaliation claims, were dismissed without leave to amend. Counts VII-VIII, the ADA discrimination and retaliation claims, were dismissed with preju- dice. Further, the court denied the employees’ motion to amend the pleadings. The employees timely appealed. II.

We review a district court’s order granting dismissal under Rule 12(b)(6) de novo. Wainberg v. Mellichamp, 93 F.4th 1221, 1224 (11th Cir. 2024). We “accept the facts alleged in the complaint as true and view them in the light most favorable to the plaintiff.” Johnson v. City of Atlanta, 107 F.4th 1292, 1297 (11th Cir. 2024). The complaint must include “enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570 (2007). “A claim has facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads fac- tual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009) (citing Twombly, 550 U.S. at 556). We USCA11 Case: 24-11146 Document: 47-1 Date Filed: 07/02/2025 Page: 8 of 20

8 Opinion of the Court 24-11146

review a district court’s denial of leave to amend a complaint for an abuse of discretion. Chabad Chayil, Inc. v. Sch. Bd. of Miami-Dade Cnty., 48 F.4th 1222, 1229 (11th Cir. 2022). III.

The employees present several claims in this appeal, against multiple Disney-affiliated entities, which they argue were improp- erly dismissed by the district court. Adam Pajer, Steven Gibbons, and Seth Schmidt assert their claims against Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, U.S., Inc. Stephen Cribb asserts his claims against Disney Vacations Club Management, LLC. All four employees assert their claims against Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, Inc. First, the employees allege religious discrimination under both Title VII and Florida’s Civil Rights Act. Second, the employ- ees allege violations under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Third, the employees allege retaliation claims under Title VII, the FCRA, and the ADA.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Little v. United Technologies
103 F.3d 956 (Eleventh Circuit, 1997)
Wagner v. Daewoo Heavy Industries America Corp.
314 F.3d 541 (Eleventh Circuit, 2002)
George v. Smith v. School Board of Orange County
487 F.3d 1361 (Eleventh Circuit, 2007)
Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly
550 U.S. 544 (Supreme Court, 2007)
Ashcroft v. Iqbal
556 U.S. 662 (Supreme Court, 2009)
Howard v. Walgreen Co.
605 F.3d 1239 (Eleventh Circuit, 2010)
William B. Newton v. Duke Energy Florida, LLC
895 F.3d 1270 (Eleventh Circuit, 2018)
Jacqueline Lewis v. City of Union City, Georgia
934 F.3d 1169 (Eleventh Circuit, 2019)
Harrius Johnson v. Miami Dade County
948 F.3d 1318 (Eleventh Circuit, 2020)
Bataski Bailey v. Metro Ambulance Services, Inc.
992 F.3d 1265 (Eleventh Circuit, 2021)
William Jenkins v. Karl Nell
26 F.4th 1243 (Eleventh Circuit, 2022)
Thomas v. Farmville Manufacturing Co.
705 F.2d 1307 (Eleventh Circuit, 1983)
Worth Johnson v. Protective Life Insurance Company
93 F.4th 1315 (Eleventh Circuit, 2024)
Muldrow v. City of St. Louis
601 U.S. 346 (Supreme Court, 2024)
Pamela Cole v. Group Health Plan, Inc.
105 F.4th 1110 (Eighth Circuit, 2024)
Charles Johnson, Jr. v. City of Atlanta
107 F.4th 1292 (Eleventh Circuit, 2024)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
Steven Gibbons v. Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, Inc., Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/steven-gibbons-v-disney-parks-experiences-and-products-inc-ca11-2025.