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Credit: Edited by ITMFlorida Governor Ron DeSantis made boasting about his ability to balance a state budget a huge part of his failed presidential campaign, but it turns out that his battle against the Walt Disney Company is causing legal budgets to soar and taxpayers foot the bill.
Only weeks ago, Ron DeSantis put forth a state budget proposal that would earmark a staggering $19 million to fight lawsuits, including millions specifically earmarked for his own individual legal costs. Many of those costs have been specifically triggered by his war against Disney, which last year led the governor to dissolve the Reedy Creek Improvement District, where most of the Walt Disney World Resort is located.
Related: Disney World Steals Multi-Billion Dollar Win From Ron DeSantis, Expansions on the Way
It turns out, however, that DeSantis getting rid of Reedy Creek and replacing it with the new Central Florida Tourism Oversight District (CFTOD) caused the legal budgets of the area to skyrocket by millions (per Law.com).
According to this new report, the legal budget of the CFTOD has jumped up to $5.7 million, more than five times what it was under Disney’s Reedy Creek in 2022. Even more concerning for taxpayers, the largest single payout of that money went to a single boutique law firm named Fishback Dominick, whose partners Kurt Ardaman and Daniel Langley were appointed by the CFTOD board as special counsel.
Related: DeSantis’ Controversial Law Nearly Removes Disney Princess From Florida
This also meant firing Edward Milgrim, the longtime counsel for the district. Records seem to indicate that Fishback Dominick charges $420 an hour for services, while Milgrim’s standard billing is $295; that could explain some fraction of the massive change in legal costs for the tax district.
It could also be argued that the CFTOD’s new legal representation was worth it, considering its board and Governor DeSantis recently won a massive surprise victory over the Walt Disney Company and its claims to have been politically retaliated against. However, the Mouse immediately filed an appeal for that case (and there are two different other cases pending), so Florida taxpayers will probably have to keep paying for those lawyers.
Do you think that Florida taxpayers should be bankrolling DeSantis’ legal struggles against companies like Disney? Let us know in the comments below.