U.S. District Judge Mark Walker withdrew from the Walt Disney Co. lawsuit. to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, citing a potential conflict because a family member owns stock in the entertainment company.

DeSantis had tried to remove Walker from the case, arguing that he could not be impartial given comments he had made about the company during hearings in two previous unrelated cases.

Walker, an appointee of former President Barack Obama who has spoken out against DeSantis on multiple occasions, said those arguments do not justify his removal from the case and amount to nothing more than ranking shopping. But he acknowledged that he had to step aside because one of his third-degree relatives owns 30 shares of Disney stock.

I don’t think the outcome of this lawsuit is likely to materially affect The Walt Disney Company’s stock price, Walker said in his order issued Thursday. I choose to err on the side of caution, whatever the judicial integrity side here, and disqualify myself.

Disney sued DeSantis in April, claiming that its efforts to wrest control of the jurisdiction in which Florida’s theme parks are located is an unlawful retaliation for the company speaking out against its policies. Disney opposed a 2022 law restricting gender identity and sexual orientation education in public schools.

The dispute has served as political ammunition for DeSantis, who recently launched his 2024 presidential campaign.