ORLANDO, Fla. – In December a federal judge will hear arguments over whether to dismiss a lawsuit between Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Walt Disney Company.
Judge Allen Winsor will hear arguments on Dec. 12 at 9:30 a.m. at the federal courthouse in Tallahassee.
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DeSantis, Florida Department of Economic Opportunity Secretary Meredith Ivey and the board of the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District are trying to get the judge to throw out Disney’s lawsuit against them over efforts by the state to put more of Disney’s property and business in Central Florida under the state’s oversight.
The parties have been in a feud ever since Disney’s former CEO criticized the state legislature for passage of the Parental Rights in Education law.
Disney is accusing the state of purposely passing several laws in retaliation for that criticism, and in violation of the company’s constitutional rights. They include remaking the special taxing district that governed Walt Disney World property, the Reedy Creek Improvement District, into the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District and placing the district under a board appointed by DeSantis.
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The state also passed a law voiding an agreement that RCID made with Disney before the old board’s dissolution, handing over much of the district’s power over the property to the company, and another that put Disney’s monorail under state oversight.
Attorneys for DeSantis and Ivey said Disney lacks standing because they claim neither official actually enforces the laws the state passed. The CFTOD also wants the lawsuit dismissed.
The CFTOD is also suing Disney in state court, and the state is counter-suing over the same issues. This week the CFTOD filed a notice of taking depositions in the case, including the intention to depose Walt Disney Parks and Resorts officials. Attorneys for the CFTOD want to ask about how the former Reedy Creek Improvement District worked and how it interacted with Disney.
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