DeSantis says he has âmoved onâ from Disney feud, wants end to lawsuit

Gov. Ron DeSantis’ tourism oversight district asked a state judge Tuesday to rule in its favor against Disney, a day after the governor said he has moved on from his feud with the entertainment giant.

The courts should declare development agreements limiting the tourism board’s authority over Disney World’s future development null and void, lawyers for the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District wrote in a motion for summary judgment.

The legal battle involves a special taxing district, formerly known as the Reedy Creek Improvement District, that oversees government services for Disney World. For years, Disney controlled that district and elected its board members.

But earlier this year, the Legislature put DeSantis in charge of picking the board members. He then replaced the Disney-friendly board members with five of his Republican allies, vowing to end Disney’s special government arrangement in Florida.

But when the new DeSantis-appointed board took over, it discovered the previous Reedy Creek board had approved agreements preserving Disney’s control over growth and development

The new board declared the agreements limiting its authority void and asked the courts to uphold their decision.

In the court filing, the district’s lawyers say the previous Disney-friendly Reedy Creek board failed to follow the state’s public notice requirements for development agreements and made other procedural missteps. In particular, Reedy Creek did not mail notices to affected property owners, they wrote.

The filing also accuses Reedy Creek of unlawfully delegating its governmental powers to Disney.

Disney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In an interview with CNBC Monday, DeSantis signaled he was ready to end the feud. In a separate legal action, Disney sued DeSantis and state officials in federal court, alleging a “targeted campaign of government retaliation.”

“We’ve basically moved on,” DeSantis said. “They’re suing the state of Florida. They’re going to lose that lawsuit.”

The squabble started in 2022 over Disney’s opposition to legislation critics called the “don’t say gay” law, which limited classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in public schools.

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