Disney is involved in a variety of lawsuits right now — on everything from Park Passes to the Reedy Creek Improvement District — but we’ve got a big update on one important one.
A lawsuit was previously filed by the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District (the new name for the Reedy Creek Improvement District) against Disney in state court in Florida. This lawsuit claims that certain agreements Disney entered into with the old Board (which the new Board claims stripped them of their power) are null and void. The Board is suing to ask the Court to declare the old agreements invalid. Disney previously filed a motion to dismiss this lawsuit (essentially get it thrown out of court) for a variety of reasons and now we’ve got an update as to what will happen next.
According to Reuters, the judge in the state court case has DENIED Disney’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit. Basically, that means Disney did not succeed in getting the Judge to throw out the case, and, instead, the case will be allowed to move forward.
WESH 2 News shares that now, Disney will have 20 days to file an answer to the Complaint in that lawsuit, and things will move forward from there.
Keep in mind that this is just ONE lawsuit Disney is involved in when it comes to the Reedy Creek Improvement District. This lawsuit was filed by the District against Disney and it seeks to have those agreements Disney entered into with the old Board declared invalid.
(Note that the District itself has already declared those agreements invalid and a law has been passed in Florida that also voids some of Disney’s agreements with the old Board.)
But, there is another lawsuit also pending in Florida involving Disney and the District. This other lawsuit was filed by Disney against the new Board of the District and Governor Ron DeSantis in Federal Court. In that lawsuit, Disney has alleged that the Governor has waged a “relentless campaign to weaponize government power” against Disney.
The lawsuit claims that Disney’s constitutional rights have been violated and that the Governor and the District have done things as a form of retaliation against Disney for speaking out against Florida’s Parental Rights in Education Bill. DeSantis has argued that Disney cannot sue him for a variety of reasons, and that case continues to be pending before the Federal court.
According to Reuters, the District has indicated that if the judge in the state case ultimately declares Disney’s agreements with the old Board to be invalid, it would “nearly wipe out Disney’s federal case against DeSantis.”
Disney thinks differently, however. A Disney spokesperson said that this latest decision from the state court judge to deny Disney’s motion to dismiss the District’s case “has no bearing” on Disney’s federal lawsuit. The spokesperson shared, “We are fully confident Disney will prevail in both the federal and state cases.”
We’ll continue to keep an eye out for more details and let you know what we find. Stay tuned for all the latest.
Click here to see what other changes have been announced for the Reedy Creek District
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The post Judge Rules AGAINST Disney in Important Lawsuit first appeared on the disney food blog.