Florida Board Sues Disney

The board overseeing the district covering Walt Disney Co.’s Orlando-area theme parks sued the entertainment giant in state court, accusing the company of striking a “backroom deal” in an effort to preserve its ability to essentially self-govern the district.

The Wall Street Journal reports the lawsuit, filed on Monday in the Ninth Judicial Circuit Court, which includes Orange and Osceola counties, marks the latest salvo in the escalating battle between Disney and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Gov. Ron DeSantis

The complaint focuses on development approvals Disney struck with a previous board just before the current board was due to take over in March. Those agreements effectively allowed the company to retain control over future development in the district.

“Disney covertly cobbled together a series of eleventh-hour deals with its soon-to-be-replaced puppet government,” the lawsuit read. “Disney hoped to tie the hands of the new, independent Board.”


WSJ’s Arian Campo-Flores explains what’s behind Disney’s lawsuit against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Photo Composition: Rachel Rogers

The new board alleges that the agreements violate 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,” according to the complaint.

The lawsuit details numerous defects that, in the board’s view, render the agreements illegal, including procedural violations in the way they were cemented and provisions that improperly contract away the district’s legislative power.