The State of Florida passed legislation taking back control of the Reedy Creek District where Disney operates, effectively ending Disney’s unusual state-within-a-state autonomy. On the eve of the legislation taking effect, the District (controlled by Disney) passed restrictive covenants preserving their autonomy and nullifying the impact of the legislation.
Disney and anti-DeSantis Republicans crowed about how Disney had outsmarted DeSantis. But it’s not clear that Disney complied with all the legal requirements, including mailed notice to neighbors, to pass the restrictive covenants; DeSantis vowed to challenge Disney’s moves including through a new District resolution voiding the restrictive covenants and possible new legislation.
So now Disney has filed suit in federal court for the Northern District of Florida. The case is assigned to Chief Judge Mark Walker, who has ruled against other legislation promoted by DeSantis, such as the “Stop Woke Act,” using bombastic language including an analogy to George Orwell.
Here are the pleadings:
Complaint
Exhibit A – Development Agreement
Exhibit B – Restrictive Covenants
The Complaint focuses heavily on Disney’s free speech rights, framing everything that has happened as retaliation for its opposition to the various legislative initiatives from DeSantis taking on “wokeness.”
From the Complaint:
2. A targeted campaign of government retaliation—orchestrated at every step by Governor DeSantis as punishment for Disney’s protected speech—now threatens Disney’s business operations, jeopardizes its economic future in the region, and violates its constitutional rights.3. Today’s action is the latest strike: At the Governor’s bidding, the State’s oversight board has purported to “void” publicly noticed and duly agreed development contracts, which had laid the foundation for billions of Disney’s investment dollars and thousands of jobs. This government action was patently retaliatory, patently anti-business, and patently unconstitutional. But the Governor and his allies have made clear they do not care and will not stop. The Governor recently declared that his team would not only “void the development agreement”—just as they did today—but also planned “to look at things like taxes on the hotels,” “tolls on the roads,” “developing some of the property that the district owns” with “more amusement parks,” and even putting a “state prison” next to Walt Disney World. “Who knows? I just think the possibilities are endless,” he said.4. Disney regrets that it has come to this. But having exhausted efforts to seek a resolution, the Company is left with no choice but to file this lawsuit to protect its cast members, guests, and local development partners from a relentless campaign to weaponize government power against Disney in retaliation for expressing a political viewpoint unpopular with certain State officials.
DeSantis’s Office Deputy Press Secretary issued an initial reaction:
In a statement to NBC News, a spokesperson for DeSantis said: “We are unaware of any legal right that a company has to operate its own government or maintain special privileges not held by other businesses in the state. This lawsuit is yet another unfortunate example of their hope to undermine the will of the Florida voters and operate outside the bounds of the law.”
Nikki Haley pulled a punk move in reaction, saying Disney should move to South Carolina:
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