Credit: Inside The MagicAlthough Florida Governor Ron DeSantis won the Federal lawsuit against Disney, the House of Mouse is seeking retaliation against DeSantis and the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District (CFTOD) in the State-level lawsuit of a similar format where Disney is now entirely at war with the Governor and its governing District.
Disney in the Fight of Its Life Against Ron DeSantis and the CFTOD
As mentioned above, not too long ago, Ron DeSantis was walking tall and proud thanks to a Federal Court judge officially ruling in favor of him with the official dismissal of the First Amendment lawsuit filed by the House of Mouse last April. Now, Disney is at war with the CFTOD in court as they attempt to argue why the State-level lawsuit should differ from the Federal lawsuit.
In a filing submitted on February 1, the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District referenced dismissing a federal case, contending that it undermines Disney’s allegations of retaliation based on the District’s leadership’s intent or motivation. Conversely, in a subsequent response filed by Disney, the company asserted distinctions between the federal and state-level rulings, emphasizing the ongoing appeal process for the federal ruling.
Disney intends to challenge the verdict, alleging legal inaccuracies, including what it perceives as erroneous analyses and applications of precedent cases by the judge. Disney further maintained that even if the federal ruling is upheld on appeal, it would not conflict with Disney’s claims in the state-level case, emphasizing the specificity and focus of its challenges to SB1604 and the Development Agreements.
Additionally, Disney cited previous orders and rulings from the state-level court, highlighting perceived differences in fact and law between the two legal actions.
Disney concludes the correspondence by affirming the continued relevance of the information sought through Discovery, emphasizing its pivotal role in supporting defenses and counterclaims regarding various allegations in the state-level case. Specifically, Disney underscores the significance of Discovery in evaluating whether the District’s actions to void existing contracts are genuinely conducted in good faith or merely serve as a political pretext.
With Disney looking to win this battle in court, the House of Mouse is officially at war with its governing District, as previously, there had only been a few battles, and few and far between.
Gov Ron DeSantis and his “Disney DeSantis District” (the former Reedy Creek) seek to remove power from the Walt Disney Company throughout Orange County, Florida. The Disney District at Walt Disney World Resort at Lake Buena Vista has its batch of Disney supporters. Still, the Florida legislature is trending negatively against Disney CEO Bob Iger and the Disney Parks in Orlando.
But now, they are both at war, which means the next 3-6 months will prove how much of a case Disney has in State court. The CFTOD recently admitted that they had not been compiling documents asked by the court, which is against the law in Florida.