Orange County Circuit Court Judge Ted Coleman denied Disney'smotions to throw out the suit, reduce the judgment amount, andorder a new trial. At the same time, the judge also rejected amotion by All Pro Sports principals Nicholas Stracick and EdwardRussell to have Disney pay their $5-million in legal fees and grantadditional damages that would triple the original jury award to$720 million.

Instead, Coleman gave the defendants only an extra $100 indamages because he found Disney didn't act maliciously orwillfully. The August jury found Disney guilty of misappropriatingtrade secrets, making fraudulent and negligent misrepresentations,and breaching confidential relationships with the two defendants inthe five years prior to the construction of the Wide World ofSports complex.

Stracick and Russell accused Disney officials of stealing theiridea for the complex after they showed conceptual drawings toDisney representatives. Disney immediately appealed the judge'sdecision to Florida's Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal in DaytonaBeach, FL.