We’ve got a major update on the ongoing battle between Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Disney.

Disney recently filed a lawsuit against DeSantis and the new board of the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District (previously known as the Reedy Creek Improvement District). The new board had a meeting to discuss how to move forward on May 1st, 2023, and in that meeting, they announced that the board would be suing Disney. Now, the lawsuit has officially been filed.

As a reminder, Disney filed a lawsuit against DeSantis and the new board which alleges that Disney’s First Amendment rights were violated, with Disney claiming the Governor has waged a “relentless campaign to weaponize government power against Disney.” In response to the lawsuit, a spokesperson for DeSantis said that Disney seeks to “undermine the will of the Florida voters.”

That brings us to the meeting on May 1st that only had one item on the agenda — “Board discussion and direction to litigation counsel and authorization to defend District officials sued in official capacities.”

DeSantis commented on the lawsuit saying “So first of all, no corporation is above the law and the people of this state. It is wrong for one corporation to basically corrupt the local government, run it as their own fiefdom, be exempt from laws, have all kinds of benefits that nobody else has…and yes, I mean, I think it’s been very disappointing to watch this particular company, what they’ve done by advocating things like the sexualization of children, very close relationship with the Chinese Communist Party…you know that’s all very problematic,” DeSantis said. Read DeSantis’ full comments on the lawsuit here.

In this new lawsuit, it begins by saying “Within its fiefdom, Disney wrote the laws that governed itself, chose whether and how to enforce those laws against itself, and set its own tax rate. No other Florida business, large or small, enjoyed those benefits.” The introduction continued, “There is no question that much good came from the special status that the Florida Legislature granted Disney in 1967. But over time Disney used its influence to obtain what must have seemed like permanent exemptions from the democratic checks and balances that apply to all other Florida businesses.”

The lawsuit then says, “In an effort to stymie Florida’s elected representatives, Disney covertly cobbled together a series of eleventh-hour deals with its soon-to-be-replaced puppet government.” This is likely referring to the agreement that the old district board created before the new board took over, including the King Charles clause.

The new board recently found the agreement from the old board invalid which is also noted in the lawsuit. “Disney’s deals violate basic principles of Florida constitutional, statutory, and common law. As a result, they are null and void—not even worth the paper they were printed on.”

So what is the lawsuit for? Well, according to the document “The District therefore seeks a judicial declaration regarding their invalidity.” It continues saying “Disney sought to limit residents in the District altogether, turning EPCOT into a theme park instead of a residential community and de-annexing the town of Celebration so the town’s inhabitants could not dilute Disney’s control,” and it called the old District board a “puppet Board.”

It then outlines what the District wants out of the lawsuit:

A. Declare that the Development Agreement is void, unenforceable, and/or invalid

B. Declare that the Restrictive Covenants are void, unenforceable, and/or invalid

C. Issue an order enjoining Disney from enforcing the Development Agreement and the Restrictive Covenants

D. Grant such other relief that this Court may deem just and proper.

We’ll continue to keep you updated on the situation.

Disney Claims DeSantis Is Waging a “Relentless Campaign to Weaponize Government Power” — Here’s a Breakdown of the Drama

The post Breaking Down the New Reedy Creek Board’s Lawsuit Against Disney first appeared on the disney food blog.