Disney agrees to settle Florida lawsuit with special district backed by DeSantis

Disney
agreed
Wednesday
to
end
litigation
in
state
court
involving
a

Florida
special

tourism
district
that
the
entertainment
giant
effectively
controlled
for
more
than
five
decades
until
last
year
after
Gov.

Ron
DeSantis
moved
to
revoke
that
status.

The
settlement
lifts
a
significant
barrier
to
the
continued
development
of

Walt
Disney
World
in
the
Orlando
area
and
provides
for
the
potential
resolution
of
a
related
federal
case.

The
state
lawsuit
was
originally
filed
in
Orange
County
by
the
Central
Florida
Tourism
Oversight
District
to
void
agreements
the
old
district
board
had
signed
with
Disney
right
before
it
was
dissolved
at
DeSantis’
behest
after
Disney
opposed
Florida’s “Don’t
Say
Gay”
bill
backed
by
the
governor.

Disney
in
turn
had
asked
the
court
to
rule
that
the
agreements,
which
benefited
the
company,
were
valid.

As
part
of
the
settlement
of
that
case
Wednesday,
Disney
agreed
not
to
challenge
the
CFTOD’s
determination
that
the
prior
agreements
with
the
old
Reedy
Creek
Improvement
District
were
null
and
void.

The
settlement
also
includes
Disney’s
agreement
to
seek
permission
from
a
federal
appeals
court
to
pause
its
effort
to
revive
a
dismissed
retaliation
lawsuit
against
DeSantis
in
Florida
federal
court
in
light
of
expected
negotiations
of “among
other
matters
a
development
agreement”
between
the
company
and
the
district.

That
clause
suggests
that
if
Disney
is
satisfied
with
the
outcome
of
the
negotiations,
it
might
drop
the
federal
civil
complaint
against
the
Republican
governor.

The
CFTOD
board
was
scheduled
to
meet
in
executive
session
Wednesday
morning
to
discuss
the
settlement.

Walt
Disney
World
President
Jeff
Vahle,
in
a
statement,
said, “We
are
pleased
to
put
an
end
to
all
litigation
pending
in
state
court
in
Florida
between
Disney
and
the
Central
Florida
Tourism
Oversight
District.

“This
agreement
opens
a
new
chapter
of
constructive
engagement
with
the
new
leadership
of
the
district
and
serves
the
interests
of
all
parties
by
enabling
significant
continued
investment
and
the
creation
of
thousands
of
direct
and
indirect
jobs
and
economic
opportunity
in
the
State,”
Vahle
said.

In
January,
a
federal
judge
dismissed
Disney’s
lawsuit
against
the
governor,
which
had
claimed
he
and
others
retaliated
against
the
company
for
criticizing
a
controversial
parental
rights
education
law.
That
law,
dubbed “Don’t
Say
Gay,”
limits
school
classroom
discussion
of
sexual
orientation
and
gender
identity.

The
judge
ruled
that
Disney
lacked
legal
standing
to
sue
DeSantis
on
its
claim
he
violated
the
company’s
First
Amendment
rights
by
pushing
to
change
the
Reedy
Creek
Improvement
District
due
to
Disney’s
opposition
to
the
law.

Disney
had
appealed
the
dismissal
of
that
suit.

But
in
its
agreement
Wednesday
with
the
CFTOD,
Disney
agreed “to
seek,
and
the
District
will
not
oppose,
permission
from
the
court
to
defer
briefing
in
Disney’s
pending
federal
appeal
…
pending
negotiations
among
other
matters
of
a
new
development
agreement
between
Disney
and
the
District.”