DeSantis Declares 'We Have Been Vindicated' as Disney Concedes Defeat in Long-Running Legal Battle
In what The Wall Street Journal called a “capitulation” by the Walt Disney Co., the entertainment giant is dropping its war with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis over control of development around its Florida resort.
“Everything we’ve done has been in the best interests of the state of Florida, and we have been vindicated on all those actions,” DeSantis said during a news conference Wednesday, according to WTVJ-TV in Miami.
“Going forward, we’re going to continue to govern with the best interests of the state of Florida,” he said.
Disney fired the first shot in the roughly 2-year-old war it fought with the Republican governor by attacking a bill he championed to protect parental rights in education, siding with critics who claimed it was anti-LGBT.
In response, DeSantis created the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District to oversee Disney-related projects, replacing the pro-Disney Reedy Creek Improvement District.
Before the former board went out of existence, however, it approved a number of projects to lock in development plans Disney wanted.
The settlement puts that largely back in the hands of the new board.
.@GovRonDeSantis‘ Parental Rights in Education Act is still the unaltered law of the land in Florida. Disney lost every court battle they fought. Disney is still no longer self-governing in Reedy Creek. All Disney’s 11th hour long term agreements are null and void. DeSantis wins.
— Sean Nelson (@BunglesLife) March 28, 2024
“I’m glad that they were able to do that settlement, those eleventh-hour covenants and restrictions were never gonna be valid, we knew that. The challenge to the state oversight board to replace Reedy Creek, that’s not going anywhere, obviously that was dismissed in district court,” the governor said Wednesday.
The settlement calls for a 2020 plan to be used as a springboard for future development. DeSantis said that the settlement allows Florida to move forward with projects that support growth along with the necessary oversight of that growth.
“No corporation should be its own government,” Bryan Griffin, the communications director for the governor, said in a statement, according to Fox Business.
“Disney Succumbs to Ron DeSantis in Fight Over Florida Tax District” is a headline the WSJ hated to write. 🙂 https://t.co/xnHBfdQDVA
— Michele (@Cheley5588) March 28, 2024
The theatrical last line of the WSJ’s previous reporting on DeSantis v. Disney was ‘“I don’t see how Disney loses,” Mr. Planas said.’
Well, they did.
Media hit hardest. https://t.co/8XAm86g9FP
— Bryan Griffin (@BryanDGriffin) March 28, 2024
Although DeSantis has criticized Disney since the rift began, he said Wednesday that the settlement paves the way for a productive partnership, according to WTVJ.
“We have an interest as a state in moving forward to make this region very strong, this oversight, tourism oversight board in that district is a big part of that, and I think that there’s gonna be ways where we can do things that are in the best interests of the state of Florida and I think Disney can be a part of that,” the governor said.
“A year ago, people were trying to act like … all these legal maneuverings were all going to succeed against the state of Florida, and the reality is here we are a year later and not one of them has succeeded, every action that we’ve taken has been upheld in full, and the state’s better off for that,” he said.
Remember all these ridiculous headlines from the media? Turns out (to no one’s surprise) they were all wrong.
Disney TODAY concedes last-minute deals were “null”, “void”, “unenforceable.”
How many of these media outlets will be issuing corrections? https://t.co/ZrvGTUBL4c pic.twitter.com/XKWxttuNva
— Bryan Griffin (@BryanDGriffin) March 27, 2024
Jeff Vahle, president of Walt Disney World Resort, praised the settlement in a statement, according to WTVJ.
“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,” Vahle said.
The settlement came after a federal judge in January rejected Disney’s claim that the state’s action violated Disney’s First Amendment rights, according to The New York Times.
It also came after a leadership change at the development district DeSantis created.
“The question now is whether Disney and the board can reach agreements that are effective and workable on many issues going forward, and the devil will be in the details that are not yet clear,” Carl W. Tobias, a professor at the University of Richmond School of Law, told the Times.
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