A Florida state court judge declined to dismiss The Walt Disney Co.’s effort to toss a lawsuit brought by the Ron DeSantis-appointed board that now oversees a special district covering the company’s Florida properties.
Disney had sought to dismiss the lawsuit, which seeks to invalidate a set of development agreements that Disney reached with the special district when it was still under the company’s control.
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Disney had filed its own federal lawsuit against DeSantis and the board of the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, claiming that the governor violated its First Amendment and other constitutional rights. Disney accused the governor of retaliation, as DeSantis moved to strip the company of control of the special district when it came out against a parental rights bill, known as “don’t say gay.”
Disney had argued that state law requires that the state court sideline the litigation until its federal action is resolved.
Orange County Circuit Court Judge Margaret Schreiber wrote in her order that the special district board’s case “is not moot and a stay is not proper.”
A Disney spokesperson said, “Today’s decision has no bearing on our lawsuit in federal court to vindicate Disney’s constitutional rights, and we are fully confident Disney will prevail in both the federal and state cases.”
DeSantis led a legislative effort to strip the company of control of the Reedy Creek Improvement District, the special district that has overseen its Florida property for the past 55 years, and appoint his own members.
But when the board of the newly renamed the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District took control, its members discovered a set of development agreements that allows Disney to retain a degree of autonomy over its theme park property and surrounding land. The agreements were approved by the Reedy Creek special district just weeks before it passed from Disney’s control to the state. Disney has maintained that the development agreements were approved in public meetings, with members of the press present, but the Central Florida Tourism board is seeking the state court action to have them invalidated.
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