Culture and Social Issues

Disney Looks To Toss Second Lawsuit In On-Going DeSantis Feud

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Disney will request on Friday that a Florida judge reject a lawsuit brought by a state oversight board in an effort to focus on a separate case brought against Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, according to Reuters.

Disney is requesting that Judge Margaret Schreiber dismiss a May lawsuit brought by the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District (CFTOD), which regulates the area around the company’s amusement parks, Reuters reported. The CFTOD lawsuit aims to invalidate any “backroom deals” made in Disney’s favor, which the CFTOD alleges were made with a former district board and are against state law.

Disney argues that the lawsuit from the district should be dismissed because it is no long necessary as the agreements from the past board were nullified by the state, Reuters reported. The CFTOD asked Schreiber to allow its case to proceed and argued that the federal case would be impacted.

“If Disney’s contracts are void, nearly all of Disney’s claims in the federal case disappear,” the district said in a court filing, according to Reuters.

A ruling in favor of Disney would allow the company to focus on their federal case against DeSantis, which claims that the governor violated the company’s right to free speech.

I signed legislation to end Disney’s self-governing status, placed the area in state receivership, and appointed 5 members to a state control board.

Disney no longer has its own government, will live under the same laws as everyone else and pay its debts and fair share of taxes. pic.twitter.com/5JnZmEjSdv

— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) February 27, 2023

DeSantis signed legislation in February that allowed him to establish a five-member state control board and required the corporation to pay taxes to the state, ultimately revoking Disney’s self-governing status. Disney filed its lawsuit against DeSantis in April over an alleged “targeted campaign of government retaliation” that unfairly punishes the company.

The Florida governor signed H.B. 1557, dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill by critics, in March 2022. It prohibits teachers from teaching about gender identity and sexual orientation before the fourth grade.

“While we’ve been strong supporters of the community for decades, I know that many are upset that we did not speak out against the bill. We were opposed to the bill from the outset, and we chose not to take a public position because we felt we could be more effective working behind the scenes directly with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle,” Bob Chapek, the Disney CEO at the time, said in response to the legislation.