Disney has responded to a request by Governor DeSantis to have the case Disney brought against him and other Florida officials dismissed. DeSantis requested the dismissal on June 26 in the federal court. Disney brought the lawsuit against DeSantis and other Florida leaders and accused them of retaliation against the company and infringing on the company’s right to free speech. The initial lawsuit accused the Governor of a “relentless campaign to weaponize government power” against the company.
The company was quite direct in its response to the motion to dismiss saying, “This case presents the fundamental question whether the Governor and the State can escape accountability for their open defiance of our Nation’s most cherished liberties.”
“The Governor seeks to evade responsibility for his actions on a narrower ground, asserting that a governor cannot be held officially liable for implementing, administering, and enforcing state laws that punish residents for political statements violating a state-prescribed speech code,” Disney continued. “The motion seeks dismissal on Article III standing, sovereign-immunity, and legislative-immunity grounds, but those principles have no application here.”
Disney initially filed the lawsuit in April and accused DeSantis of violating their first ammendment rights. This came after the company came out against the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” law that was passed in Florida. The company ammended the lawsuit in May and added more examples of how the state of Florida unde the leadership of Governor Ron DeSantis was continuing to pile on with its retaliation.
“Disney’s claim in this case is that the laws reorganizing the District violated Disney’s constitutional rights,” says the opposition filing. “Having demanded public credit for abrogating Disney’s Contracts, the Governor cannot escape responsibility when called to answer for that action in court, particularly before fact discovery is completed,” it continued.
Disney’s opposition to the DeSantis motion to dismiss this lawsuit is the latest salvo in the controversy between Disney and DeSantis that began last year when then Disney-CEO Bob Chapek came out against Florida’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill, that is now a law. This led to a disagreement between the company and state that eventually led to a focus on the Reedy Creek Improvement District, the entity where the Walt Disney World Resort resides. The Reedy Creek Improvement District was created over half a century ago to govern the district and help manage development.
As the disagreement has developed, DeSantis grew increasingly aggressive and took actions to punish Disney. This has included suggesting that the board of the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District could have sway over Disney content, bringing up raising taxes in the district, making toll roads in the district, regulating the district’s Monorails (which became law), and also throwing out the idea of adding a prison in the district. DeSantis has also suggested that Disney is playing by its own set of rules and does not pay enough taxes because it assesses its own properties. Speaking out on the Development Agreement, DeSantis said that Disney and Reedy Creek made the agreement in secret. “They (Disney) are not superior to the laws that are enacted by the state of Florida.” DeSantis said. “They thought they could create a development agreement that would render everything we did null and void. That’s not going to work, that’s not going to fly.”
Disney, however, is the largest tax payer in Central Florida and does not assess its own taxes. Disney utilizes the same system for tax assessment as other companies with similar situations in Florida. It appears that this system is equal and Disney is being singled out at this point. In 2022 Disney paid $1.146 billion in state and local taxes.
The development deal that has been central to recent controversies was made in an open manner and not behind closed doors. There was plenty of transparency that has been available for those who have been watching this story develop since the conflict first began. The Development Agreement could be seen in process on the Reedy Creek Improvement District website in its minutes. The process was also publicized in local papers and on the Reedy Creek Improvement District website.
The State of Florida itself approved the Comprehensive Plan upon which the Development Agreement which DeSantis is trying to render “null and void” is based on. This was done on July 17, 2022. It was finalized on February 8, 2023 with Reedy Creek Improvement District.
After the new Central Florida Tourism Oversight Board and Governor DeSantis discovered this Development Agreement and began to attack it, Disney released the following statement on March 28, 2023: “All agreements signed between Disney and the District were appropriate, and were discussed and approved in open, noticed public forums in compliance with Florida’s Government in the Sunshine law.”
Eventually the Florida State Legislature passed a law that gave the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District the ability to nullify the Development Agreement. It also passed a law to regulate the Walt Disney World Resort monorail.
Governor DeSantis and his legal team have until August 9, 2023, to respond to Disney’s response to the motion to dismiss. If Disney gets its way, the court case for this lawsuit would be on July 15, 2024, the same day as the Republican National Convention.
Disney’s opposition to the dismissal of the lawsuit can be read in full here:
