Which he won. Disney has mostly backed off.
No. Disney has both federal & state cases in progress. Some of the actions were moved to the Federal case.
DeSantis-backed board will pay $6.5 million in legal fees as it battles Disney
The amount is more than triple what the district typically pays.New figures released Wednesday find the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District anticipates it’ll spend $4.5 million in legal fees in 2024, after already incurring $1.9 million in costs this year. The figures were presented as part of the district’s larger budget proposal led by Glen Gilzean, the district administrator.
The costs come as a result of dueling lawsuits between Walt Disney World and the board, whose members were hand-picked by DeSantis. The governor put new leaders in charge after the Walt Disney Co. publicly opposed a bill he signed into law limiting when and how educators can teach LGBTQ topics in public schools.
Disney sued in federal court in April, alleging retaliation against its right to speech, and the board filed a dueling lawsuit in state court.
Before the feud, the district spent roughly $1.25 million on legal fees, Gilzean said, calling the spending increase “regrettable” and “Disney-induced expenses.” Part of the increase in spending also comes as a result of board members seeking legal advice when they consider new governance policies, he said.
Gilzean also laid out $16 million in planned cuts as part of his presentation, largely achieved through cutting the millage rate, or tax rate, that’ll affect how much people and businesses pay in property taxes in the district. Due to higher property values, the move won’t necessarily reduce what area homeowners and businesses pay in property taxes but will keep the payments from going up next year as much as they otherwise would.
One of the more contentious budget items set to be excised was $2.5 million in Disney World perks for roughly 400 district employees, a tab the district picked up for decades. One firefighter who spoke during the public comment period in the meeting broke down in tears over the change, saying he otherwise couldn’t afford to take his family to the parks.
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/08/23/disney-district-legal-fees-desantis-00112464
https://www.thestreet.com/travel/walt-disney-makes-a-strong-charge-against-desantis