Walt Disney Parks and Resorts on Wednesday, Sued Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and his hand-picked Oversight Board, accusing DeSantis of Weaponizing his Political Power to Punish the company for exercising its Free Speech Rights. The Lawsuit as filed in Federal Court, minutes after the Board Appointed to Oversee Disney’s Special Taxing District, sought to claw back its Power from the Entertainment giant, Voting to Invalidate an Agreement struck between Disney and the previous Board in February, just before that Board’s Dissolution.
“What they created is an absolute legal mess, OK? It will not work,” said Martin Garcia, Chairman of the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District Board of Supervisors. Wednesday’s moves are the latest escalation in the Fight between DeSantis and Disney.
The Lawsuit characterizes Wednesday’s Vote as the “latest strike” in “a targeted campaign of government retaliation – orchestrated at every step by Governor DeSantis as punishment for Disney’s protected speech.” It says DeSantis’ retaliation “now threatens Disney’s business operations, jeopardizes its economic future in the region, and violates its constitutional rights.” “Disney finds itself in this regrettable position because it expressed a viewpoint the Governor and his allies did not like. Disney wishes that things could have been resolved a different way,” the Lawsuit says. “But Disney also knows that it is fortunate to have the resources to take a stand against the State’s retaliation – a stand smaller businesses and individuals might not be able to take when the State comes after them for expressing their own views. In America, the government cannot punish you for speaking your mind.”
The Board’s move Wednesday was expected, and Board Members in previous Meetings had previewed its Argument over why it saw the Agreement as Invalid. In March, the Board hired a Team of Law firms to represent the District in “potential legal challenges” with Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, signaling that DeSantis’ Appointees anticipated the fight was headed to the Court room.
Disney CEO Bob Iger hinted at the Case against the State when he told Shareholders earlier this month, that “the company has a right to freedom of speech just like individuals do.” “The governor got very angry about the position that Disney took, and it seems like he’s decided to retaliate against us. … in effect, to seek to punish a company for its exercise of a constitutional right,” Iger said. “And that just seems really wrong to me – against any company or individual, but particularly against a company that means so much to the state that you live in.”
The Fight now shifts to the Courts, where Disney, in its 77-page Lawsuit, is seeking an Injunction that would Block the Board from exercising the Power DeSantis and the Republican-led Legislature sought to hand it.
“We are unaware of any legal right that a company has to operate its own government or maintain special privileges not held by other businesses in the state,” DeSantis Communications Director Taryn Fenske said. “This lawsuit is yet another unfortunate example of their hope to undermine the will of the Florida voters and operate outside the bounds of the law.”
In February, Disney reached an Agreement with the Outgoing Board, that seemed to render the Body Powerless to Control the Entertainment Giant. The DeSantis Administration was Unaware of the Agreement for a month, and vowed Retribution after it became Public.
The Agreements Disney signed with the previous Board, ensured the company’s Development Rights throughout the District for the next 30 years, and in some cases Prevented the Board from taking significant Action without First getting Approval from the company. One Provision Restricted the New Board from using any of Disney’s “fanciful characters” until “21 years after the death of the last survivor of the descendants of King Charles III, king of England.”
Its Development Agreement was Approved over the course of Two Public Meetings, held Two weeks apart earlier this year, both noticed in the local Orlando Newspaper and attended by about a Dozen Residents and Members of the Media. No One from the Governor’s Office was present at either Meeting, according to the Meeting Minutes.
In Wednesday’s Meeting, the Board’s Special General Counsel, Daniel Langley, walked through its Legal Argument for Nullifying the Deal between Disney and the previous Board. He said the Board had Not provided the required Public Notice of its Meetings, and said the Agreement was Not properly Approved by Two Municipalities within the District, the Cities of Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista. “The bottom line is that a development agreement has to be approved by the governing body of a jurisdiction, and that didn’t happen from the cities that have jurisdiction,” Langley said.
Former Florida Supreme Court Justice Alan Lawson, an Attorney hired by the District, said that “the old board attempted to act without legal authority to act.” “This is essentially about what it means to live and work in a country governed by the rule of law. Everyone must play by the same rules,” he said. “Disney was openly and legally granted unique and special privilege – that privilege of running its own government for a time. That era has ended.”
The State legislature created the Reedy Creek Improvement District in 1967, and effectively gave Disney the Power to Control Municipal Services like Power, Water, Roads, and Fire Protection, around its Central Florida Theme Parks that didn’t exist before Walt Disney and his Builders arrived. But the Special District also freed Disney from Bureaucratic Red Tape and made it Cheaper to Borrow to Finance Infrastructure Projects around its Theme Parks, among other significant advantages.
That Special Arrangement, though Criticized at times, was largely Protected by State Politicians as both Disney and Florida benefited from the Tourism boom.
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
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