More Disney Lawsuits Against DeSantis Could Be On The Way
The ongoing battle between Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and The Walt Disney Company has spread to another front.
According to the New York Times, last Friday, Disney disclosed that DeSantis and six state entities had not complied with public records requests the company’s lawyers made in May. The requests were part of the recovery process in the dueling court cases between Disney and DeSantis.
Disney has subsequently sent letters to the governor’s office and other state entities, warning that the company would sue each under Florida’s records act, unless their request is complied with by September 6.
“It has now been nearly four months since our request, and we have yet to receive any of the requested records or any substantive response asserting valid exemptions,” Adam Losey, an Orlando lawyer working for Disney, wrote in the letters.
As part of the discovery process, Disney has requested “all documents and communications, including but not limited to text messages, Signal messages and WhatsApp messages on any devices” with the keywords “Disney” or “mouse,” among many others, according to the letter.
How We Got Here
The latest controversy adds yet another wrinkle to the ongoing feud between DeSantis and Disney.
The public battle began with DeSantis and his allies moved to dissolve Disney’s Reedy Creek Improvement District, which had essentially given Disney governing autonomy over its Central Florida land.
The Florida State Legislature then replaced Reedy Creek with the governor-appointed Central Florida Tourism Oversight District (CFTOD).
Disney sued DeSantis in federal court over the dissolution of Reedy Creek, arguing that the action was done in retaliation for Disney’s public opposition to Florida’s Parental Rights in Education law (which critics have dubbed “Don’t Say Gay”). Disney argues that DeSantis and his allies have violated the company’s First Amendment rights.
The CFTOD, meanwhile, is suing Disney in state court over last-minute binding agreements that the company made with Reedy Creek in the waning days of that entity’s existence.
The agreements essentially gave Disney control over the land in and around Walt Disney World in perpetuity, thus neutering the CFTOD’s governing power.
With both lawsuits set to head to court, and more new suits on the way, it doesn’t look like the battle between Disney and DeSantis is dying down anytime soon.
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