Ron DeSantis vs Disney Legal Battle Explained

Although Ron DeSantis recently said he has "moved on" from his fight against Disney, the legal battle between the entertainment giant and the Republican governor, as well as the board of appointees he left behind on World Disney land, is continuing through federal and state lawsuits.

The political, economic, and public relations battle between DeSantis' Florida and Disney started last year when the entertainment giant spoke speak out against the governor's so-called "Don't Say Gay" bill, a sweeping legislation banning the state's schools from discussing topics related to gender identity and sexual orientation.

Since then, Disney has been stripped of its self-governing rights over its Florida resort, which had enjoyed for over 50 years. The decision, taken in April by DeSantis and effective as of June 1, dissolved Disney's special tax district, known as the Reedy Creek Improvement District. The district has now been redubbed the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District (CFTO) and is supervised by a board of DeSantis appointees.

Disney didn't accept the decision without a fight. The company filed a federal lawsuit against DeSantis and the new CFTO Board (CFTOB), saying that Florida has violated their Article I constitutional rights under the Contract Clause, 1st Amendment right to free speech, 5th Amendment rights under the Takings Clause, 14th Amendment rights to due process.

In turn, the CFTOB has filed a lawsuit against Disney, saying the company has limited its authority in the district by making deals with Disney-friendly predecessors.

Newsweek asked a legal expert how both cases are going.

Disney's Federal Lawsuit

"The brief summary is that Disney alleges that Governor DeSantis and the CFTOB have sought to punish Disney for speaking out against the 'Don't Say Gay' law by taking away their control of the Reedy Creek Improvement District, seeking to nullify a valuable development agreement signed between Disney and Reedy Creek, and threatening Disney with future reprisals if Disney does not change the content in shows and movies," Aubrey Jewett, associate professor and assistant director at the School of Politics, Security, and International Affairs at the University of Central Florida, told Newsweek.

DeSantis has argued against the claim, saying that the change to Disney's status in the district is designed to treat the company the same as all the other businesses in the state.

There's uncertainty about when the trial will start, Jewett said, as Disney and the DeSantis/CFTOB lawyers have suggested different dates.

"Disney suggested a start date for the trial of July 15, 2024, which would be opening day for the Republican National Convention that DeSantis presumably will want to attend," Jewett said.

"The DeSantis/CFTOB lawyers have suggested a start date of August 4, 2025, which would be well after the 2024 presidential race has been decided," she added.

The new federal judge that took the case over, Allen Winsor, has announced that he did not think either of the timelines put forward was reasonable and would set a trial schedule after he rules on the dismissal motion made by the state's lawyers earlier this week.

"Winsor, a Trump appointee, is widely seen as possibly more favorable to DeSantis than the original federal judge who recused himself [Mark Walker, a Barack Obama appointee] because a distant relative owned a small amount of Disney stock and has ruled against DeSantis on several other actions and high profile laws," Jewett said.

DeSantis-appointed Board's State Lawsuit

There's another legal battle outstanding between Florida and Disney. The CFTOB filed a state lawsuit against Disney that is moving forward in a state court.

"The CFTOB is asking the state court to void the development agreement and restrictive covenants that Reedy Creek signed with Disney shortly before the CFTOB took over," Jewett explained.

"Disney asked the judge to dismiss that lawsuit or to delay it until the federal lawsuit was decided, but the judge recently ruled that the case could move forward."

The CFTOB lawyers have suggested that should they win the state case, much of the federal lawsuit will be undercut, Jewett said, "since many of Disney's claims in the federal court revolve around the new development agreement and restrictive covenants."

Disney's lawyers disagree, saying that they are asking the federal judge to overturn the law creating the CFTOB and restore everything back to the way it was.

What's Next For the Lawsuits?

According to Jewett, the state case is likely to be held and decided before the federal one.

"I think that both cases could go either way," she said.

"On the one hand, in the federal case, it seems quite clear that DeSantis and the legislatures acted to punish Disney—the governor and several prominent lawmakers have written or spoken comments that make that very clear and a number of 1st Amendment experts have said Disney has a strong case," she said.

"However, proving that was the only motive or main motivation in court is a difficult task and the state will argue that they had other legitimate reasons to change the special district government since no other corporation has such expansive public powers."

For the state lawsuit, the CFTOB lawyers are likely to argue that the previous board and Disney did not follow the rules when adopting and signing the new development agreement and restrictive covenants, Jewett said.

"Disney will counter that they and Reedy Creek worked on the Development agreement for years and did have two open meetings with proper notice before the agreements were formally adopted," she said.

"Orange County Circuit Judge Margaret H. Schreiber is hearing this case. She was originally appointed by Republican Governor Rick Scott back in 2011 but has since won reelection twice in non-partisan elections from voters in Orange County, which has majority Democratic registration, thus it appears she is relatively neutral as opposed to the federal judge."