Thursday, March 28, 2024

Florida and Disney Bury the Hatchets

By John R. Byrne

Disney and the State of Florida appear to have buried their respective hatchets. As we noted in a post a few months ago, Florida prevailed over Disney in a federal lawsuit arising out of the Northern District of Florida that had accused the State of retaliating against Disney for speaking out against Gov. DeSantis and certain legislation passed by the State. Disney has pressed pause on its appeal of that ruling. And now, in a settlement announced yesterday, Disney and Florida have resolved state court litigation between the parties. The Herald covers it here

The media is characterizing the settlement as victory for the State. At the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District Board Meeting, Miami-based attorney Paul Huck outlined the settlement details for the board. The YouTube clip summarizing the settlement begins at 39:30. But, big picture, the restrictive covenants that the old Reedy Creek Improvement District Board passed at the eleventh hour to saddle the new Governor-appointed board are now null and void. 

Sounds like a normalizing of relations. Here's a quote from Vice Chair of the Central Tourism Oversight Board, Charbel Barakat: “With this settlement, which is complete and significant, we are eager to work with Disney.”

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