Governor Ron DeSantis recently asked that Disney drop its federal lawsuit against him over the internal working of Walt Disney World. But rather than do that, it appears Disney’s plan is to double down. There are currently a pair of lawsuits between Disney World and Florida: one lawsuit brought by Disney World against DeSantis and the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, and a state suit brought by the CFTOD against Disney. Now Disney has countersued at the state level, going after the board in a fairly interesting way.
In response to the Florida state lawsuit brought by the CFTOD, (available here) Disney World not only denies the various claims made by the District but also countersues the organization, claiming breach of contract and violations of the Florida state constitution. The suit itself focuses on the land use agreement that Disney World entered into with the Reedy Creek Improvement District, which was subsequently voided by the CFTOD after a new law transformed one into the other. Disney argues that, while the name of the District changed, it is ultimately the same organization from a legal perspective, and thus it must abide by the contract.
Strap in kids, because this gets a little wild. Last year, when Disney first came out against Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law and the battle between Ron DeSantis and Disney World began, the first plan was to simply abolish the existing district entirely. But Florida lawmakers ultimately rejected this plan, as it was expected to then burden the state with a substantial amount of debt that RCID carried at the time. So instead, the district was simply changed. But the law signed by DeSantis that made that change, specifically stated the district was NOT being abolished, and that therefore any debts and contacts the old board was responsible for were still in effect.
Disney World Vs. DeSantis: A Complete Timeline Of The Legal Battle
Disney World is now using the legal principle of estoppel to argue that since the RCID and the CFTOD are actually the same legal entity, the board cannot make the land deal with Disney, and then simply go back and void it after the fact. It’s an intriguing argument that certainly seems to make sense by a strict reading of the law.
Disney World is also now suing the CFTOD in a state case that mirrors the federal case. Florida’s state constitution includes a freedom of speech provision, just as the federal constitution does. And so just as Disney filed its initial federal lawsuit against Governor Ron DeSantis claiming a violation of its freedom of speech, Disney is now suing the CFTOD at the state level making the same claim. The argument is that all of the laws passed over the last several months that have fundamentally changed Disney World have been acts of retaliation against the resort due to the company’s public statements against the “Don’t Say Gay” law.
Disney had previously tried to get this suit tossed out of court, but last month the judge rejected that request. Ron DeSantis and the CFTOD have separately made motions to get themselves out of Disney's federal case as well. We're still waiting for a ruling on those motions.
