The Walt Disney Company and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ appointees to a special district board reached a settlement on Wednesday. The agreement puts a high-profile legal dispute that threatened Disney CEO Bob Iger’s reputation in the rearview mirror.
The deal stipulates that development plans approved by the previous board before DeSantis took over would be null and void. It also dismisses a state lawsuit over public records.
The Deal
Disney is conceding some control to the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District board that was appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis and his allies to oversee its region of the state. In a settlement approved Wednesday in state court, Disney agrees that development agreements it crafted with the board in the final weeks before DeSantis took over are now null and void. It also agreed to defer briefing on its federal lawsuit against the new board and drop one of the two state suits it filed, including a public records complaint.
The settlement comes after a series of legal maneuvers that started when the previous governing board, led by a longtime Disney ally, was taken over in January by DeSantis and his allies. The governor accused the governing body of trying to punish the company for opposing his Parental Rights in Education Act, known as “Don’t Say Gay,” which restricts discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in schools.
In retaliation, Disney sued DeSantis and the newly appointed board in federal court, accusing them of violating its First Amendment right to free speech by taking away special privileges that had allowed it to self-govern. A federal judge tossed that lawsuit in January, but Disney has appealed the decision. Wednesday’s settlement marks a clear signal that the company is willing to move past the dispute with a new board it says will ensure continued job creation and avoid any political meddling.
Disney’s Reaction
The deal ends a high-profile state lawsuit brought by Disney against the governor’s appointees to oversee a special district that includes its Florida theme parks. It also dismisses a federal lawsuit that the company filed last year alleging government retaliation, which a judge rejected but to which the company planned to appeal.
The state-level dispute started after Disney publicly opposed a 2022 law championed by DeSantis that restricts classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity. The governor responded by grabbing control of the local governing board that had granted Disney broad autonomy in day-to-day management of its Orlando theme park operations and installing his own people to call the shots.
On Wednesday, the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District board approved a settlement in the state case that had been threatening to take away Disney’s self-governing status. The agreement stipulates that development plans that were approved by the old board — formerly known as the Reedy Creek Improvement District — before DeSantis’ board took over are null and void.
The move signals that the parties are ready to put the fight over Disney in the past, Foglesong said. The removal of former board chairwoman Stephanie Kopelousos, who had worked on the governor’s presidential campaign, and the appointment of new chairman Craig Mateer, a hospitality executive and DeSantis donor, may have helped bring the parties together.
Disney’s Future in Florida
A settlement between Florida and Disney may put to rest one of the state’s most controversial political feuds. The House of Mouse has agreed to drop a federal lawsuit challenging the governor’s takeover of the tourism district that controls Orlando’s Walt Disney World resort and other properties. It will also pause an appeal of a court ruling that declares a set of development agreements — including covenants and contracts with the company — null and void after DeSantis’ appointees took over the board.
In the lawsuit, Disney accused DeSantis of leading a “targeted campaign of government retaliation” over its opposition to his controversial anti-gay law. A federal judge rejected that suit in January, but the company planned to appeal.
But the companies say the latest settlement, which calls for a review of development plans and other policy issues, will allow them to move past their bitter spat. They also agree to drop two state lawsuits involving the dispute. Disney also agrees to put on hold its challenge of the court ruling declaring the last-minute development agreements null and void while it negotiates a new deal with the tax district board. In announcing the settlement, Disney CEO Robert Iger also criticized DeSantis’ “unhinged personal vendetta against Disney.” Iger warned that his “foolish actions” could jeopardize the $17 billion investment and 13,000 jobs the company has promised in Florida over the next decade.
Disney’s Federal Case
In a federal lawsuit filed earlier this week, Disney claimed the new board of the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District (CFTOD) was trying to “punish it for expressing a political view.” But US District Judge Allen Winsor dismissed that suit on Wednesday, saying that for Disney to get a court to impose its own rules on CFTOD’s actions, it had to show it faces a concrete threat of future injury.
The CFTOD board, which replaced the Reedy Creek Improvement District board, ruled that agreements the previous Disney supporters on the old board signed with Disney just before the state takeover were invalid. Those agreements include covenants and development plans that could affect Disney’s $17 billion plan to continue building more hotels, adding a fifth park, and opening other new attractions at Walt Disney World.
Disney’s federal suit argued that the law passed by the Florida Legislature and signed by DeSantis to revamp the district transferred authority from Disney supporters to DeSantis appointees in retaliation for the company publicly opposing the 2022 Parental Rights in Education Act, which restricts classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity. But Winsor said the law that changed the district didn’t target Disney specifically, and he found that Florida’s power to establish governing districts isn’t constrained by the First Amendment. He added that the case would be more successful if it focused on what the CFTOD’s actions were meant to accomplish, rather than its motives.
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