On Wednesday, it was reported that The Walt Disney Company is taking Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and his appointed Central Florida Tourism Oversight Board to court over actions it took to nullify the previous board’s deal to keep the long-standing special tax district, formerly known as Reedy Creek.
“This government action was patently retaliatory, patently anti-business, and patently unconstitutional,” Disney said in the complaint, according to Yahoo Finance. “The Governor and his allies have made clear they do not care and will not stop.”
The lawsuit claims DeSantis’ moves are a “targeted campaign of government retaliation —orchestrated at every step by Governor DeSantis as punishment for Disney’s protected speech — [that] now threatens Disney’s business operations, jeopardizes its economic future in the region, and violates its constitutional rights.”
“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,” the complaint continued.
The lawsuit also asks the court to block enforcement of “Senate Bill 4C and House Bill 9B, which would dissolve all special tax districts established prior to November 1968, including Reedy Creek, and authorize a reestablishment period to either amend them, or keep them dissolved.”
In a statement sent to Yahoo Finance in response to news of the lawsuit, DeSantis’ communications director, Taryn Fenske, 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.”
Disney’s lawsuit concluded, “Disney finds itself in this regrettable position because it expressed a viewpoint the Governor and his allies did not like.”
Hey Disney, Go woke and go broke.