Ron DeSantis’ Board Appointees Vote To Counter Disney’s Lawsuit With Their Own Litigation
Ron DeSantis’ appointees who control a special district overseeing Walt Disney World voted on Monday to file their own lawsuit against the company.
The five-member board of the Central Florida Oversight District voted unanimously to file a lawsuit in state court. That would counter a federal lawsuit filed last week by Disney against DeSantis and the board members, alleging government retaliation after the company opposed the governor’s parental rights legislation, known as the “don’t say gay” law.
“This district will seek justice in state court here in central Florida where both it and Disney reside,” said Martin Garcia, who serves as chairman of the board. “Yes, we will seek justice in our own backyard.”
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Garcia indicated that the lawsuit would seek to affirm the board’s efforts to void Disney’s agreement with the special district before it passed to state control. The agreement gives the company extensive sway over what gets built on its property and the land surrounding it.
“Since Disney sued us, we have no choice now but to respond,” Garcia said.
Disney filed its lawsuit on Wednesday, shortly after the oversight district moved to invalidate the development agreement. Among other things, the lawsuit alleges violations of the First Amendment as well as the U.S. Constitution’s contracts clause.
The litigation is the latest front in what has turned out to be a protracted battle by DeSantis, eyeing a 2024 presidential run, and Disney. In its lawsuit, the company said that DeSantis had engaged in a “targeted campaign of government retaliation” that “now threatens Disney’s business operations, jeopardizes its economic future in the region, and violates its constitutional rights.”
Disney had largely self-governed the Reedy Creek Improvement District, the previous name for the oversight district, for 55 years. But after the company publicly opposed the “don’t say gay” law, the governor moved to dissolve the special district. DeSantis then led an effort this year to retain the district under a new name and with his own appointees making up its board.
A spokesperson for Disney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Disney is seeking a federal judge’s affirmation that the development agreement cannot be voided. The company also wants to roll back the state’s action that put the special district essentially under the governor’s control. He appointed its five members, who were quickly confirmed by the state Senate.
“The task of this board is to promote better governance and to promote a new and better zoning structure for the district,” Garcia said. He noted that the board had hired new legal counsel and advisers, as well as an independent financial adviser, as well as a new administrator.
Another board member, Ron Peri, said that “nothing could have prepared me for this.”
“What I encountered was gross misrepresentation in the press. They actually said that I believed that if you drank tap water, it would make you gay. I never said that. I don’t believe it certainly,” he said.
Peri was referring to a CNN report that cited a January 2022 Zoom discussion that was posted to YouTube. In the video, according to CNN, he shared the conspiracy theory.
“I’ve been mocked by CNN, by Forbes,” Peri said. “…I have encountered all of these things. Even Stephen Colbert has done two sessions on me.” He added, “Everyone hears through the filter of the press. You are not hearing what the reality is. The reality is that there did need to be a change.”
More to come.
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