Court date set for Central Florida Tourism Oversight District v. Disney lawsuit

Jun 05, 2023 in "Reedy Creek Improvement District"

Posted: Monday June 5, 2023 11:00am ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

A date has been set for the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District lawsuit v Disney filed in the 9th Judicial Circuit Orange County.

Court documents filed today state a hearing for the case to be held on July 14, 2023 at 2pm.

Filed on May 1, the 188-page lawsuit opens by saying that "in an effort to stymie Florida's elected representatives, Disney covertly cobbled together a series of eleventh- hour deals with its soon-to-be-replaced puppet government."

The suit continues, "Disney hoped to tie the hands of the new, independent Board and to preserve Disney's special status as its own government in the District for at least the next thirty years. These agreements reek of a backroom deal—drafted by Disney with the acquiescence a lawyer who represented both Disney and the District, set for hearing without proper notice, and hustled through a compliant Disney-controlled Board that Disney knew would not dwell long on the issue. But perhaps out of haste or arrogance, Disney's deals violate basic principles of Florida constitutional, statutory, and common law. As a result, they are null and void—not even worth the paper they were printed on."

Disney is also suing the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in a federal court.

Disney's federal April 26, 2023 lawsuit was filed in response to Governor DeSantis' attempts to replace the Reedy Creek Improvement District with his own hand-picked board. Disney's lawsuit says that DeSantis' actions violated its First Amendment and other constitutional rights, alleging they were motivated by retaliation due to the company's opposition to the so-called "don't say gay" law related to parental rights in schools.

Discuss on the Forums

Get Walt Disney World News Delivered to Your Inbox

View all comments →

mkt9 days ago

Something something gabagool something

MisterPenguin9 days ago

Ohh? Talkin' bout Wegman's are we? The pastrami?... To die fohr.

Figgy110 days ago

It's pronounced Joisey;)

JoeCamel10 days ago

I can hear the accent in that post

Figgy110 days ago

When in the Orlando area we usually shop at Whole Foods over Publix

dmc49310 days ago

@Figgy1 those there are fighting words, bring it on

Figgy110 days ago

Wegmans is much better than Publix for just about everything

LAKid5310 days ago

You needed to go to the #1 party school. 😉 The Publix next to FSU's campus...and right across from fraternity row...was quite buzzing on Wednesday nights. I learned quickly to avoid it on that night.

Comped10 days ago

Really? I've never heard of that and I've been to multiple Publixes around UCF campuses while a student haha.

Captain Barbossa10 days ago

Lucky Florida. All the Publix’s in my area are where the local senior swinger clubs convene 🤢

MisterPenguin10 days ago

That's a Florida wedding shoot.

mkt10 days ago

Brian10 days ago

Sir, this is a Publix thread.

eddie10410 days ago

What good does DeSantis provide being in the Senate ? His personality is as lackluster as his policies and with Trump back in the White House his political future is based on his success. Nobody is gonna be checking for those type of politicians any longer if the next four years turns out be garbage.