DeSantis' Central Florida Tourism Oversight District lawsuit against Disney to go before judge today

Jul 14, 2023 in "Reedy Creek Improvement District"

Forum Forums Tweet Share Tweet Share

Posted: Friday July 14, 2023 1:09pm ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

A judge will hear arguments today from the legal teams of Disney and the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District.

The CFTOD board unanimously passed a motion on May 1 2023, to sue the Walt Disney Company in a Florida state court. This is in contrast to Disney's lawsuit against DeSantis and the board, which was filed in a federal court.

In announcing the lawsuit, Central Florida Tourism Oversight District board chair Martin Garcia said, "Since Disney sued us, we have no choice now but to respond. This district will seek justice in state court here in Central Florida, where both it and Disney reside and do business. Yes, we'll seek justice in our own backyard."

Garcia says the state court lawsuit will seek to "uphold and enforce the board's April 26, 2023 legislative findings relating to the February 8, 2023 development agreement and declaration of restrictive covenants."

The Walt Disney Company filed a motion on May 16 to dismiss or stay the state lawsuit brought about by the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District.

Disney says CFTOD lawsuit must wait until Disney's federal case against Governor DeSantis is resolved

Disney argues that recent actions taken by the state have rendered the litigation irrelevant. Disney also says that Florida law mandates the state court to put the lawsuit on hold until the company's federal case against Governor Ron DeSantis is resolved.

In the motion filed in Florida state court, Disney's lawyers argue that the federal action Disney filed against DeSantis last month involves similar parties and overlapping issues, and the federal case should be the primary court for resolving the dispute.

Disney's federal April 26, 2023 lawsuit was filed in response to Governor DeSantis' attempts to replace the Reedy Creek Improvement District with his own hand-picked board. Disney's lawsuit says that DeSantis' actions violated its First Amendment and other constitutional rights, alleging they were motivated by retaliation due to the company's opposition to the so-called "don't say gay" law related to parental rights in schools.

Discuss on the Forums

Get Walt Disney World News Delivered to Your Inbox

MagicHappens197123 hours ago

Most likely not. Disney isn't building it because it was a Chapek plan that Iger didn't like, they used the guise of the political issues they were having to justify not building it.

rogerrabbitfan923 hours ago

I would imagine that any long term office use plans from that long ago are based on very different assumptions than would be made today.

Goofyernmost1 day ago

I looked at it, when they cancelled that project, it was more of a convenient way of getting out of it. There was a lot of backlash from the Imagineering department about uprooting and heading for the less than liberal thinking area called Florida. They were about to lose a lot of very creative people. They might still attempt to be the developer of that property if they still own it, but they won't be investing more money into it in my opinion.

eddie1041 day ago

I don’t believe they have.

Comped1 day ago

To my knowledge, Disney still hasn't sold off the land?

eddie1041 day ago

I wonder once the dust settles on this will this revive their plans for an East Coast division HQ in Florida?

BrianLo2 days ago

It's nice to get the funding commitment tied up into this. Obviously they've given themselves an out in case of an 'event', much like they have for Disneyland Forward. But an out doesn't mean zero investment. It also sort of again concedes their figures aren't just purely political or Wall Street talking points. Not that I've doubted they are, but the company clearly intends (at this juncture) to still spend this 17 billion over ten years.

BrianLo2 days ago

From what Len posted it would seem to be maybe a two-ish year project finishing mid or late 2027. World Drive being done in 2026.

JoeCamel2 days ago

Or when they spend other people's money

Dr.GrantSeeker2 days ago

Really excited about the widening of Western Way. Is there a timeline on that? It needs to happen sooner than later.

mkt2 days ago

It’s amazing what will get done when the board is forced to act in good faith

Tom P.2 days ago

It's a discussion forum. That's the whole point. Why would you want to be in a discussion on a discussion forum and just say "eh, let's stop talking about this" and expect everyone to just drop it?

GoneViral2 days ago

Agreed!

lazyboy97o2 days ago

No… there are people who genuinely believe that Disney is a bunch of groomers. Just because DeSantis dropped the attacks doesn’t means others have. Disney is hoping people in Florida will run interference if people at the federal level want to target Disney.