How many of you heard from so-called “experts” that Disney would absolutely win their lawsuit against Florida? How many of you heard that Disney was doing the obvious, 100% correct step of fighting Florida over DEI initiatives and state-sponsored curriculum aimed at bedroom issues for small children? Well… those who told you Disney was on the right-side-of-history are now stuck being on the opposite side of Disney. You see, Bob Iger’s House of Mouse has agreed to settle with Florida and it’s all in Florida’s favor.
“Disney agreed to drop its lawsuits against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in a major win for the new board overseeing the land encompassing Walt Disney World Resorts.
The settlement agreement on Wednesday includes Disney acknowledging eleventh hour deals it made with the outgoing Reedy Creek Improvement District are now null and void.
Walt Disney Co. made these last-ditch efforts in an attempt to solidify property rights and grant the theme park additional powers as DeSantis appointed a new board to oversee the area and hold the corporation accountable to laws and taxes in Orlando.”
— Daily Mail
Andrew Esquire is a Florida attorney who specializes in Florida special districts such as the RCID and now CFTOD which controls Disney property via local government powers. Mr. Esquire also operates a YouTube channel where he has extensively detailed how these legal conflicts between Florida and Disney would play out. Mr. Esquire has repeatedly said that this was a trillion dollar mistake by Disney and that they would eventually need to settle with Florida in a painful way. That appears to have happened.
But how does it reach a trillion dollars in damages for Disney? To assess that, Mr. Esquire has stated repeatedly that Disney was subject to very special benefits as a result of essentially controlling its own local government. When Disney opted to take an official counter position to the state regarding the Parental Rights in Education bill (termed “Don’t Say Gay” by opponents and falsely ran as the actual name by many media outlets), Disney brought extra scrutiny upon its sweetheart deal arrangement. When that deal was ended, it also brought intense inquiry into how exactly Disney had been able to essentially run a local government as if it was a wing of the company. Even CEO Bob Iger seemed confused that he didn’t own said local government.
Because Disney’s decision to weigh in on the legislation barring official state curriculum including sexual orientation lessons for classrooms of preschool children (up through third grade) is sometimes seen as a means by which Bob Iger had former Disney CEO Bob Chapek removed… it may have been a very costly C-Suite change.
With Disney now subject to all the rules, regulations, impact fees, etc, that other companies face, the trillion dollar amount Andrew Esquire quotes likely comes running those increased costs out over the next hundred years and with inflation considered. In other words, becoming a political entity in Florida has had a minimum-hundred-year impact on The Walt Disney Company. It’s therefore all the more amazing how many people wanted Disney World to be politically charged in the state — especially considering that the sweetheart deal they enjoyed for fifty years was able to be taken at any time and for any reason the legislation ever saw fit.
After fighting with tremendous public conviction and angry prose, Disney has now utterly surrendered. Paul Huck of CFTOD lays the agreement out as follows:
- The development agreement and restrictive covenants previously under lawsuit are to be considered null and void.
- Disney will not challenge the district’s view that certain comprehensive plans and land development regulations adopted in January of the previous year are invalid, recognizing the 2020 Comprehensive Plan as the current operative plan.
- The district commits to reviewing and potentially amending the 2020 Comprehensive Plan, with consultations involving Disney and other relevant parties.
- Both parties agree to dismiss with prejudice the claims and counterclaim in the ongoing state court lawsuit.
- Disney will also dismiss with prejudice a separate state court litigation regarding public records and withdraw its pending public records request.
- The labor services agreement between the district and the Reedy Creek energy services would be amended so that the term would expire in 2028 rather than 2032, and its automatic renewal provisions removed.
- Disney asserts ownership of certain long-term mitigation credits, with the district agreeing not to interfere with their use. These credits stem from permits issued by multiple agencies, with Disney having funded their creation.
- Concerning a federal court case Disney filed, which is currently on appeal, both parties will seek to defer briefing on the appeal while negotiating a new development agreement.
- Both entities agree not to contest each other’s actions prior to a specific date, with certain exceptions related to the content of the settlement agreement and potential defenses in the federal lawsuit.
- Finally, the agreement includes mutual releases by both parties.
And while that does feature concessions from both sides, ultimately is not our belief that Disney is out of the woods yet. It seems that investigations initiated in the past which may have revealed issues with bonds, energy, utilities and more… all of which could impact tremendous numbers of third parties… all remain available for possible continued investigatory activity and lawsuits.
Womp, womp! This shows that the giant can bleed, despite its expensive lawyers.
Disney hasn’t agreed to drop its appeal of the Federal case dismissal, but it is likely moot since it relies on the state case that is resolved.