Disney Just Won in Court. Here’s Why That’s Bad.
A nearly decade-long saga just ended with the Walt Disney Company emerging victorious.
The outcome of this lawsuit could reward Disney $2 million immediately and as much as $80 million in time.
Photo: Disney
Believe it or not, that’s terrible for Orange County, Florida.
Yes, the clickbait meme title, like a broken clock, is accurate today.
Photo: Orange County Government
Disney just won in court, and here’s why that’s bad.
What Just Happened, Part One
Remember the Disney tax assessor lawsuit?
Disney has faced so many court battles recently that I’ll understand if you’ve forgotten this one.
Photo: Disney
In 2015 and 2016, the recently elected Orange County Property Appraiser, Rick Singh, decided he was going to bring law and order to this town.
Well, that’s how he would have phrased it.
Photo: PRNewsFoto/Enterprise Fleet Management
Others who worked in the same division would argue that he went rogue in a vain attempt to increase his political profile.
For no apparent reason, I’ll go ahead and mention that Singh lost his primary in a bid for reelection in 2020, when he gained a woeful 31 percent of the vote.
People wanted this guy gone, and you’re about to remember why.
Singh felt strongly that the hospitality industry wasn’t paying its fair share on property assessments.
Photo: Stephen M. Dowell / Orlando Sentinel
As I stated in 2020, Singh’s position “is that the land is more valuable than government appraisals have indicated.”
I also said at the time, “Disney has won previous challenges, which indicates that the law is on Mickey Mouse’s side.”
Photo: Disney
Orange County, Florida, just learned that the hard way, as you’re about to see.
Disney fought back, with Singh learning quickly that his legal defenses couldn’t match the ferocity of a multinational conglomerate’s legal team.
Walt Disney Company
As MickeyBlog indicated in June 2020, the hospitality industry believed Disney’s victory was a win for all hoteliers of a similar scale.
Specifically, the court ruled that Singh’s property appraisal calculations were illegal under Florida law.
Photo: Disney
Those chickens just came home to roost this week.
What Just Happened, Part Two
Amy Mercado replaced Singh after the 2020 election. Her office immediately signaled to Disney that it was Singh’s fight, not theirs.
Sadly, the people of Orange County, Florida, are already paying for his vast overreach.
Photo: Amy Mercado
Judge Thomas W. Turner just ruled in Disney’s favor for one property, Disney’s Yacht & Beach Club Resort.
In evaluating the ruling, Orange County Tax Collector Scott Randolph estimated Disney would regain $2 million from the previous overbilling.
Photo: Disney
In a conversation with the Orlando Sentinel, Randolph discussed Disney’s potentially lucrative repayment structure.
“Technically, the ruling only applies to the Yacht and Beach Club Hotel, and only for those two years, but the disagreement on which it’s based, the valuation determination is the basis for all their litigation on all of the hotels of Disney since 2015.”
Stormalong Bay at Disney’s Beach Club Resort
In the article, Randolph comes across as the hero of the piece in that he alerted the proper authorities about the potential downside of this lawsuit.
Randolph alerted potentially impacted officials that they should stockpile a large total, $80 million, as protection against the doomsday scenario.
Disney’s Beach Club Resort
This ruling represents said doomsday scenario.
A reasonable extrapolation suggests that Disney could win $80 million from Orange County, Florida, due to Singh’s egregious overreach.
Photo: The Walt Disney Company
Somehow, that’s not even the worst part.
Our analysis from 2020 appears sound. Other members of the hospitality industry, particularly large hotel chains and anything associated with Universal Orlando Resort, could sue on the same grounds.
Universal Orlando
Given what has happened thus far, they have a reasonable chance of winning those lawsuits.
So, Orange County’s total exposure is outrageous.
Here’s why that’s bad
Do you remember how I said that Randolph warned some officials to stockpile money just in case?
Sadly, the impacted group is the Orange County education system.
Photo: Spectrum News
That’s right. Orange County Public Schools (OCPS) could get left holding the bag for Singh’s indefensible mistakes.
On the Disney front, the OCPS has held back $80 million in anticipation of this event.
Photo: OCPS
Randolph indicates that this is “the equivalent of paying a $6,000 retention bonus to every teacher in the district, or building three new elementary schools.”
This is the moment when Helen Lovejoy shouts, “Won’t someone please think of the children?!”
Photo: FOX
In truth, the purpose of this article may be to place Disney, proudly a good neighbor, on the defensive regarding later lawsuit rewards.
Even if Disney acts magnanimously, which isn’t guaranteed with this much money on the line, other hoteliers aren’t as well known for their benevolence.
Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
The positive is the glacial pace of the Florida legal system.
Monday’s ruling reflects the final determination on a 2016 lawsuit.
Credit: Disney
So, any greedy hoteliers would probably need several years to claim a final victory over Orange County.
That knowledge provides school officials with some runway to build up another war chest in case of disaster.
The Walt Disney Company
However, it also suggests limited money in the budget for future school years.
Like many of you, I immediately wondered about the statute of limitations.
The Walt Disney Company
Unfortunately, Randolph adds, “Potentially other hotels are going to start calling, too.”
Since he’s one of the people they’d sue, he must know that no legal loopholes are going to save them.
What Happens Next?
Whenever I discuss Florida legal rulings with attorney friends, they always scoff and indicate that Florida’s gonna Florida.
Therefore, I cannot extrapolate how this scenario will play out based on similar cases in other states.
Flavors of Florida
Florida’s just its own thing right now.
I will say that I believe Disney would happily work out a deal with Orange County officials since these rulings would affect the lives of Cast Members’ children.
Disney Connect
Then again, approval for such negotiations may need to go through the governor’s office, and, well, you know…
Stay tuned. Even after eight years, we may still be on the ground floor of this nonsense.
The Walt Disney Company
But if RIck Singh ever runs for anything, I would suggest not voting for him.
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