Disney Asks Los Angeles Court to Throw Out One of the Charges in the Lake Nona Lawsuit
The Walt Disney Company is seeking dismissal of one count of a proposed class-action lawsuit filed against it by two former employees who sold their homes in California and relocated to Florida in 2021.
Former Disney employees Maria De La Cruz and George Fong alleged that they were told in 2021 that their Glendale-based jobs were being relocated to Florida as part of Disney’s plans to open a new headquarters in Lake Nona.
When plans for the project fell through, the plaintiffs had uprooted their lives for naught.
How We Got Here
If you cast your mind back to 2021, you may remember Disney’s grandiose plans to create a new headquarters in Lake Nona, Florida. At the time, the company received a massive tax incentive from the Sunshine State and was poised to relocate roughly 2,000 California-based jobs.
At the time, Cast Members had a decision to make: Would they move across the country or find a new job?


Photo: Central Florida Development Council
De La Cruz and Fong were among the many Disney employees who uprooted their lives and bought homes in Florida.
The Death of Disney’s Lake Nona Dream
Unfortunately, the Lake Nona campus never came to fruition. The new headquarters was initially expected to open in 2024, but it was delayed due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.


Photo: CNBC
Then, Disney and Desantis began feuding over the company’s response to Florida’s Parental Rights in Education bill (which critics dubbed “Don’t Say Gay”). When Bob Chapek was ousted as Disney CEO and Bob Iger returned, plans for Lake Nona were canceled.


Photo: The Wall Street Journal
For the Cast Members who had already made life-changing decisions, the news was devastating.
The Lawsuit
In their lawsuit, De La Cruz and Fong allege that Disney promised them affordable housing, good schools, and a new office, among other benefits, before pulling the rug out from underneath them.


Photo: Lake Nona
One of the four charges in the suit accuses Disney of violating the state’s Labor Code regarding solicitation of an employee by misrepresentation.
Disney’s Defense
According to the latest court documents, Disney wants the count dismissed as the plaintiffs violated the one-year statute of limitations.


Photo: Also Disney
“Critically, plaintiffs concede that Disney announced the cancellation of the Lake Nona project on May 18, 2023. Meaning that, at the very least, the statute began to accrue as of that date. 13 months before they filed their complaint,” Disney argued.
A decision on the motion will be made at a hearing scheduled for March 13.
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