Disney Ends Long-Running Feud With DeSantis Over Board Power (2)

A board appointed by Ron DeSantis has voted to settle a lawsuit with Walt Disney Co., effectively ending an almost year-long legal battle between the Florida Governor and one of the state’s biggest employers.

The board of the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, the municipal authority that governs Disney parks in Florida, unanimously accepted a settlement offer made by the company in a meeting Wednesday. Disney had sued DeSantis and the board in April last year, igniting a legal battle that has played out in a series of courts.

The agreement was struck in a state-level dispute between the parties. In a separate federal lawsuit, a district judge dismissedDisney’s case against DeSantis, but the company appealed. The entertainment giant has agreed to pause action on the federal lawsuit, but not drop it entirely.

“This is moving forward, that’s what the company wants to do,” DeSantis said in a press conference in Orlando. Disney has opportunities to “expand their footprint and continue to attract visitors.”

Ron DeSantis

Photographer: Mel Musto/Bloomberg

The lawsuit was the culmination of a feud between DeSantis and Disney that started after the company criticized a 2022 law championed by the governor that restricted classroom instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity. DeSantis responded by seizing control of the local governing jurisdiction that gave Disney great autonomy to manage to day-to-day operations of Disney World and its other Central Florida theme parks, by appointing his own people to the board.

The dispute was fodder for DeSantis in his campaign for the Republican 2024 presidential nomination. He dropped out late in January.

Under the settlement, Disney will agree to revoke some of the changes that limited the powers of the municipal authority and were at the center of the state lawsuit. Before the DeSantis board took over, the prior members, controlled by Disney, had approved changes that restricted the powers of the new board, including their ability to review theme-park expansions and billboard advertising.

The district will now consult with Disney on a new land-use plan. The settlement also involves dismissing multiple other legal cases involving Disney and the district.

“We are pleased to put an end to all litigation pending in state court in Florida between Disney and the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District,” Jeff Vahle, president of Walt Disney World Resort said in a statement. “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.”

Read more: Hubris, Infighting, Awkward Moments: How DeSantis 2024 Unraveled

Disney’s long-running dispute with the state contributed to proxy adviser Egan-Jones choosing this week to side with activist investor Nelson Peltz’s campaign for two board seats at the company’s annual meeting next week.

Egan-Jones cited Disney’s lack of a management succession plan, its “highly problematic” relationship with the state government in Florida and “extremely dangerous entrance of the company and its management” into the nation’s culture wars.

(Updates with DeSantis comments starting in third paragraph)

--With assistance from Rob Golum and Nic Querolo.

To contact the reporters on this story:
Felipe Marques in Miami at fmarques10@bloomberg.net;
Madlin Mekelburg in Austin at mmekelburg@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Pierre Paulden at ppaulden@bloomberg.net

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