Florida Governor DeSantis requests trial delay in Disney case until after the presidential election

Jun 28, 2023 in "Reedy Creek Improvement District"

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Reedy Creek Improvement District overview

Posted: Wednesday June 28, 2023 11:18am ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

The court schedule for Disney's federal lawsuit against Ron DeSantis has been released, with details on proposed trial dates from both parties.

Disney is asking for a July 2024 court date, with DeSantis defendants asking for it to begin in August 2025, after the November 2024 presidential election.

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.

Disney's lawsuit against Ron DeSantis will begin in July 2024 at the earliest

In addition to the trail date proposals, the schedule also reveals other key dates:

Plaintiff proposes the following schedule:

Fact discovery completed by January 15, 2024.
Expert disclosures made no later than January 15, 2024, and expert discovery completed by March 15, 2024.
Summary Judgment and Motions for Judgment on the Pleadings shall be due April 1, 2024.

Defendant proposes the following schedule:

Fact discovery completed by January 3, 2025.
Expert disclosures made no later than January 3, 2025, and expert discovery completed by March 14, 2025.
Summary Judgment due by April 1, 2025.

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castlecake2.012 hours ago

Yes

Stripes12 hours ago

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

mkt18 hours 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.

Unbanshee18 hours 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

lazyboy97o1 day 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.

Brian1 day 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.

mkt1 day ago

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

pdude811 day ago

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

Brian1 day ago

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

pdude811 day 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.

lazyboy97o1 day ago

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

flynnibus1 day 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.

UNCgolf1 day ago

That seems wildly optimistic.

flynnibus1 day 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.