Disney Vs. DeSantis: Governor’s Appointees Win In Court As Suit Against Company Cleared To Move Forward

28.07.2023 - 21:51 / forbes.com / Ron Desantis / U.S.District

A state judge delivered a win Friday to board members Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) appointed to oversee Walt Disney World’s special district, multiple outlets report, as the court ruled the board members’ lawsuit against Disney over a development agreement that hamstrings the board’s power can move forward in court—possibly undercutting Disney’s separate legal case against DeSantis and his allies in federal court.

Board members appointed to oversee the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District (formerly known as the Reedy Creek Improvement District) countersued Disney in state court in May after the company filed a federal lawsuit against DeSantis and the board, which argues the Florida government illegally retaliated against Disney after the company opposed the state’s Parental Rights in Education law, known by critics as “Don’t Say Gay.”

After the state legislature passed a law that replaced the special district’s board with DeSantis appointees, the DeSantis board members discovered a last-minute development agreement and restrictive covenants between Disney and the previous board took away much of their power over the special district, and their lawsuit asks the state court to void those agreements.

Disney filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing the state legislature made the case moot by enacting a separate law that’s also aimed at voiding Disney’s agreements, and said if the court doesn’t dismiss the case completely, it should at least pause the lawsuit until after Disney’s federal lawsuit is resolved.

The board disagreed, saying the lawsuit is still relevant and calling Disney’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit “classic Imagineering” that “invit[es] the Court to make believe that reality is whatever Disney dreams up.”

Orange County Circuit Judge Margaret H. Schreiber ruled Friday the case should move forward and isn’t moot, striking down Disney’s procedural arguments in the case and ruling that pausing the case until the federal lawsuit is resolved isn’t warranted.

The board’s lawsuit will continue playing out in court and has not yet been resolved, but the fact it still remains active and the court wouldn’t dismiss it could present issues for Disney in federal court. The DeSantis appointees have argued to the federal court that that case should be paused until the state lawsuit is resolved, and said in a court filing that if the state court rules in its favor and voids the development agreement, “nearly all of Disney’s claims in the federal case will disappear.” Disney’s federal case is now being overseen by U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor, a Trump appointee who could be more sympathetic to DeSantis and the board members in the case. While the state court case only concerns the