Disney adds new Florida regulations to suit against DeSantis

The Walt Disney Company amended its lawsuit Monday to include the new Florida regulations in its legal battle against Gov. Ron DeSantis (R).

Disney added new Florida regulations enacted in the last few weeks to its lawsuit in an amended complaint, which now references a new transportation bill approved by the legislature last week that would give the state authority to inspect Disney World’s monorail system.

The amended complaint includes other recent developments to the Florida governor’s ongoing feud with the entertainment company, like a bill that DeSantis signed last week that will allow the board he appointed to oversee Disney World to cancel agreements that the company made within three months of the board’s takeover.

Disney initially filed its lawsuit against the Florida governor last month after the board that DeSantis appointed to oversee Disney voted to void development contracts that Disney made. The lawsuit came after months of DeSantis sparring with Disney, which alleged that DeSantis is harming its business operations.

This ongoing battle between DeSantis and Disney emerged after the company publicly opposed Florida’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which banned the teaching of gender identity and sexual orientation topics in elementary schools in the state. DeSantis then took action and stripped Disney of its special status that the company had since the 1960s, which gave it self-governing power over the Reedy Creek Improvement District. 

DeSantis later signed legislation that replaced the Reedy Creek Improvement District with the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, which is an DeSantis-appointed board created to oversee Disney. However, Disney had previously signed in agreement before the establishment of the new board that gave it developmental authority over its district, which was then voided by the new board, leading to the lawsuit.