Disney files new lawsuit against district board appointed by DeSantis

disney filed a lawsuit against the district board appointed by the governor of the Florida, Ron DeSantisand that supervises the area where the theme parks are located, for not complying with the state public registration law, local media reported this Tuesday.

According to the Sun Sentinel newspaper, the entertainment giant filed a lawsuit on Friday in an Orlando court, in central Florida, against the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District (CFTOD, in English), for failing to disclose and preserve correctly public documents.

Disney says in its lawsuit that the board has not fully responded to a request it made months ago to obtain emails and text messages belonging to the five board members, who were appointed by DeSantis.

Disney asks the judge to review the documents exempt from being publicly disclosed, as the board alleges, and to order the delivery of others that the company has requested.

This lawsuit is added to the two lawsuits that the company has filed against DeSantis and the district board, one of them in federal court and in which Disney alleges that the governor of Florida, and presidential candidate for the Republican party, attacks their right to freedom of expression.

The conflict arose when a company executive criticized a state law promoted by DeSantis that prohibits addressing issues related to gender identity and sexual orientation in school classrooms, a rule known by its detractors as ‘Don’t say gay’ and which came into force in July 2022.

The governor replaced the Reedy Creek Improvement District, under which the company has operated its theme parks in this state autonomously since the 1960s, with the CFTO, in what the firm has called “reprisal”.

Last month, a study commissioned by Walt Disney World was released, according to which the company’s economic impact in Florida amounts to more than US$40 billion and generates some 263,000 jobs.