Global Courant 2023-04-27 00:43:22
Disney filed suit Wednesday in U.S. District Court against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and several Florida officials over a campaign the company said was “patently retaliatory, blatantly anti-business and blatantly unconstitutional.”
The lawsuit follows the decision of the state’s board of trustees to void “publicly announced and duly agreed development contracts that had laid the foundation for billions of Disney investment dollars and thousands of jobs,” the legal filing said.
The company’s lawsuit called the move “a targeted campaign of government retaliation — orchestrated every step of the way 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 his constitutional rights.”
DeSantis has since attempted to take control of Disney’s special tax district, allowing the theme park to run itself, the lawsuit said. The Florida legislature voted to dissolve the district’s former board of directors and create a DeSantis-appointed Central Florida Tourism Oversight District in its place. According to the lawsuit, the board voided a contract before the CFTOD was in effect.
Taryn Fenske, Governor Ron DeSantis’ director of communications, told ABC News, “We are not aware of any legal right that a corporation has to run its own government or maintain special privileges not held by other corporations in the stands.”
The statement continued, “This lawsuit is yet another unfortunate example of their hopes of undermining the will of Florida voters and operating outside the bounds of the law.”