Why Disney Is Essentially Paying For DeSantis’ Legal Team

When the Ron Desantis-appointed Central Florida Tourism Oversight District (CFTOD) unveiled its proposed 2024 budget last week, district administrator Glen Gilzean revealed that the district projects that it will spend $4.5 million in litigation next year.

That number will come largely from a pair of lawsuits between the CFTOD and The Walt Disney Company.

Photo: CFTOD

Disney is suing both DeSantis and the CFTOD in federal court, arguing that the decision to dissolve the former Disney-run Reedy Creek Improvement District was done in retaliation for Disney speaking out against Florida’s Parental Rights in Education bill (which critics have dubbed “Don’t Say Gay”).

Meanwhile, the CFTOD is suing Disney in state court over the last-minute binding agreements that the company made with Reedy Creek in the waning days of that district’s existence. Those agreements essentially gave Disney control over their Central Florida land in perpetuity, neutering the CFTOD’s control over the area.

Photo: Fox Business

Disney Is Footing The Bill

In a strange twist of fate, the company footing the bill for the CFTOD’s legal battles will be Disney.

Like any other local government, the CFTOD relies on the tax revenue it collects in order to pay its expenses.

Photo: Central Florida Urban League

In this case, however, Disney and its affiliates pay the preponderance of the district’s property taxes, meaning they will essentially be funding their opponent’s legal team.

Last year, Disney and its affiliates paid 86% of the district’s property taxes. In 2023, the company paid $161.1 million in property taxes, the next highest total was $5.1 million by the Four Season Resort Orlando.

Photo: Greg Angel/Spectrum News 13

An Atypical Situation

“It’s almost an additional way of punishing Disney by using their own money to sue,” said Richard Foglesong, a Rollins College professor who wrote the book “Married to the Mouse.” “It really is kind of odd, atypical. That Disney is paying on both sides of the lawsuit.”

Photo: The Business Journal

In the end, if Disney wins its court cases, it will likely have no qualms about footing the bill. The irony of Disney essentially paying the other side’s legal team, however, just goes to show how messy the whole situation is.