DeSantis' Central Florida Tourism Oversight District to sue Disney in Florida state court

May 01, 2023 in "Reedy Creek Improvement District"

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Posted: Monday May 1, 2023 9:44am ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

The Central Florida Tourism Oversight District held a special meeting this morning to discuss its response to the lawsuit filed by Disney against the individual members of the board last week.

The Central Florida Tourism Oversight District will meet just days after it moved to nullify Developer Agreements between Reedy Creek and Disney

The board unanimously passed a motion to sue the Walt Disney Company in a Florida state court. This is in contrast to Disney's lawsuit which was filed in a federal court.

In announcing the move, Central Florida Tourism Oversight District board chair Martin Garcia said, "Since Disney sued us, we have no choice now but to respond. This is why we called today's meeting to authorize legal action in response to Disney's federal lawsuit. 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."

There was only one item on the agenda for today, "Board discussion and direction to litigation counsel and authorization to defend District officials sued in official capacities."

Board Chair Martin Garcia began the meeting by stating what the new board has achieved in its short time since overtaking Reedy Creek Improvement District. The achievements highlighted primarily related to hiring lawyers, consultants, and other advisors to fight Disney.

Garcia then suggested that the board's efforts are bringing the district into the 21st century, saying, "Disney sued this board to stop our efforts to improve the district and its operations. In essence, Disney is asking a federal court in Tallahassee to wrestle back the hands of time to 1967 while this board is instead charged legislatively to bring the district to the 21 century."

Board member Ron Peri in an address asked people to "pray for us." And went on to say that is surprising for him to be sued by Disney.

The Walt Disney Company filed a lawsuit in a Florida Federal Court last week, naming Florida Governor Ron Desantis and the entire Central Florida Tourism Oversight District board.

The board includes one of the authors of Florida's controversial Parental Bill of Rights law, Bridget Ziegler, Ron Peri, a former senior pastor of Evangel Baptist Church and now CEO of The Gathering, and lawyers Martin Garcia, Brian Aungst and Mike Sasso.

Disney claims in its lawsuit filed in a federal court last week that there has been "A targeted campaign of government retaliation-orchestrated at every step by Governor DeSantis as punishment for Disney's protected speech-now threatens Disney's business operations, jeopardizes its economic future in the region, and violates its constitutional rights."

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castlecake2.011 days ago

Yes

Stripes11 days ago

Has Disney/CFTOD continued to replace the purple direction signage with the new blue color scheme since CFTOD took over?

mkt11 days ago

You're right. The new document will be different. It will be "different" in the way that Chris Gaines was "different" from Garth Brooks or how the drummer from Nirvana is "different" from the singer of the Foo Fighters.

Unbanshee11 days ago

Both are effectively picked by the Governor, just not technically. Look no further than the communications "strategy" with the replacement of Gilzean of the Governor's office getting out ahead of every single step of the process

lazyboy97o11 days ago

The settlement acknowledged the “need” to change the comprehensive plan, which undermines this idea. So too does the lack of an agreement, as the 2032 Comprehensive Plan wasn’t that different than the again in force 2020 Comprehensive Plan.

Brian11 days ago

That's understandable for sure. I just felt inclined to make the distinction due to the ongoing conversation, as the district administrator is selected by the board, while the board is selected by the governor.

mkt11 days ago

The new agreement will be functionally the same as the one Disney was sued over.

pdude8111 days ago

You're right. This has been going on so long I just lumped all the antagonists together.

Brian11 days ago

Not to nitpick, but Gilzean was district administrator, not a board member.

pdude8111 days ago

A bigger risk than keeping Garcia and Gilzean on the board as active disruptors? I don't agree with their decision to stall the federal lawsuit, but I understand why they saw the status quo as a risk to growth over the next few years.

lazyboy97o11 days ago

You don’t think dropping your bargaining power in the middle is the best strategy in a negotiation?

flynnibus11 days ago

Again… we know nothing except both sides have shown signs of positive attitude and certainty of successful outcomes. What does that mean? None if us know. All we can speculate is… they know a lot more than they have said publicly… and obvious things like "desantis is not perpetual…" were clearly obvious to them when they made these choices.

UNCgolf11 days ago

That seems wildly optimistic.

flynnibus11 days ago

“Right now…” Yes, we all know this. But again, we don’t know what back room deal they have setup. Who knows… it could even include new legislation promises… Or Disney is just rolling with the hand they are dealt… maybe they have accepted that the time to sunset their advantages of rcid is here… none of us can tell what their true intentions are right now.