Contact The Editor
Articles By This Author
A board appointed by Ron DeSantis has voted to settle a lawsuit with Walt Disney Co., effectively ending an almost year-long legal battle between the Florida Governor and one of the state's biggest employers.
The board of the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, the municipal authority that governs Disney parks in Florida, unanimously accepted a settlement offer made by the company in a meeting Wednesday. Disney had sued DeSantis and the board in April last year, igniting a legal battle that played out in a series of courts. In January, a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit accusing DeSantis of politically retaliating against the entertainment giant.
The lawsuit was the culmination of a feud between DeSantis and Disney that started after the company criticized a 2022 law championed by the governor that restricted classroom instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity. DeSantis responded by seizing control of the local governing jurisdiction that gave Disney great autonomy to manage to day-to-day operations of Disney World and its other Central Florida theme parks, by appointing his own people to the board.
The dispute was fodder for DeSantis in his campaign for the Republican 2024 presidential nomination, which he dropped out late January.
Under the settlement, Disney will agree to revoke some of the changes that limited the powers of the municipal authority and were at the center of the state lawsuit. Before the DeSantis board took over, the prior members, controlled by Disney, had approved changes that restricted the powers of the new board, including their ability to review theme-park expansions and billboard advertising.
The district will now consult with Disney on a new land-use plan. The settlement also involves dismissing multiple other legal cases involving Disney and the district.
"We are pleased to put an end to all litigation pending in state court in Florida between Disney and the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District," Jeff Vahle, president of Walt Disney World Resort said in a statement. "This agreement opens a new chapter of constructive engagement with the new leadership of the district and serves the interests of all parties by enabling significant continued investment and the creation of thousands of direct and indirect jobs and economic opportunity in the state."
Disney's long-running dispute with the state contributed to proxy adviser Egan-Jones choosing this week to side with activist investor Nelson Peltz's campaign for two board seats at the company's annual meeting next week.
Egan-Jones cited Disney's lack of a management succession plan, its "highly problematic" relationship with the state government in Florida and "extremely dangerous entrance of the company and its management" into the nation's culture wars.