Disney Sues DeSantis

Disney Takes on DeSantis in Lawsuit Over Alleged Abuse of Government Power

Disney is not backing down from a fight with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and members of the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District. The entertainment giant has filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida, alleging that the state has weaponized government power against them.

The lawsuit claims that the state has violated Disney’s First Amendment right to free speech by attempting to strip control of the special taxing district encompassing the Walt Disney World Resort from the company after Disney spoke out against Florida’s Parental Rights in Education bill.

Disney is seeking to have two laws restructuring the former Reedy Creek Improvement District declared as “unlawful and unenforceable,” along with legally upholding the agreement between Disney and the former district made on Feb. 8, which stripped the new district of most of its power.

Disney’s Claims Against the State

• The state violated the contract clause in the U.S. Constitution by working to void an agreement Disney made with the previous board, which undercut the power of the new DeSantis-appointed district board.
• The state violated the takings clause in the U.S. Constitution by allegedly taking property rights from the company “without payment of just compensation.”
• The state violated the due process clause of the 14th Amendment by arbitrating “the Contracts without any rational basis and for only impermissible reasons.”

The battle between DeSantis and Disney began last year when Disney denounced DeSantis’s push for the Parental Rights in Education Act. Lawyers for Disney argue that “there is no room for disagreement about what happened here: Disney expressed its opinion on state legislation and was then punished by the State for doing so.”

DeSantis’s office has called the lawsuit “yet another unfortunate example of their hope to undermine the will of the Florida voters” and added it was “unaware of any legal right” for a company to hold on to “special privileges.”

Disney is not taking this lying down and is fighting back against what it sees as an abuse of government power. Stay tuned for updates on this ongoing legal battle.

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