Florida Governor Ron DeSantis asks court to dismiss Disney's Lawsuit

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Posted: Monday June 26, 2023 5:30pm ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has filed a motion asking the court to dismiss Disney's lawsuit against him.

In the motion, DeSantis says, "The Court should dismiss the amended complaint, or at minimum, dismiss all claims against the State Defendants."

DeSantis claims, "Its last-ditch power grab having been foiled under state law, Disney now turns to federal constitutional law to sue the Governor, the Secretary of the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, the CFTOD Board, and CFTOD’s Administrator. Its claims are meritless for many reasons, not least of which is that a special district cannot bind the State to transfer a portion of its sovereign authority to a private entity."

You can read the full 27 page motion here.

Disney claims in its lawsuit filed in a federal court that there has been "A targeted campaign of government retaliation-orchestrated at every step by Governor DeSantis as punishment for Disney's protected speech-now threatens Disney's business operations, jeopardizes its economic future in the region, and violates its constitutional rights."

The Walt Disney Company has filed a federal lawsuit against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and the board of the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District

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peter1143526 minutes ago

No. But it’s the start of the process

MR.Dis38 minutes ago

Does this mean a new agreement has been reached with Disney? I am trying to read between the lines on just what this is saying.

flyakite2 hours ago

castlecake2.012 days ago

Yes

Stripes12 days ago

Has Disney/CFTOD continued to replace the purple direction signage with the new blue color scheme since CFTOD took over?

mkt13 days ago

You're right. The new document will be different. It will be "different" in the way that Chris Gaines was "different" from Garth Brooks or how the drummer from Nirvana is "different" from the singer of the Foo Fighters.

Unbanshee13 days ago

Both are effectively picked by the Governor, just not technically. Look no further than the communications "strategy" with the replacement of Gilzean of the Governor's office getting out ahead of every single step of the process

lazyboy97o13 days ago

The settlement acknowledged the “need” to change the comprehensive plan, which undermines this idea. So too does the lack of an agreement, as the 2032 Comprehensive Plan wasn’t that different than the again in force 2020 Comprehensive Plan.

Brian13 days ago

That's understandable for sure. I just felt inclined to make the distinction due to the ongoing conversation, as the district administrator is selected by the board, while the board is selected by the governor.

mkt13 days ago

The new agreement will be functionally the same as the one Disney was sued over.

pdude8113 days ago

You're right. This has been going on so long I just lumped all the antagonists together.

Brian13 days ago

Not to nitpick, but Gilzean was district administrator, not a board member.

pdude8113 days ago

A bigger risk than keeping Garcia and Gilzean on the board as active disruptors? I don't agree with their decision to stall the federal lawsuit, but I understand why they saw the status quo as a risk to growth over the next few years.