A handful of Florida residents are suing the state and its Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, over the decision to dissolve Walt Disney Co.'s special self-governing district near Orlando, saying the move will saddle them with the company’s $1-billion debt burden.
The taxpayer lawsuit, filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Miami, is the latest fallout from Disney’s battle with Florida over the Parental Rights in Education law, which opponents have derisively nicknamed “Don’t Say Gay” legislation.
DeSantis last month signed a law that would eliminate Disney’s special tax and self-ruling status in central Florida by axing the Reedy Creek Improvement District, which was created by the state Legislature in 1967 to allow Disney to act as its own municipal government.
State lawmakers voted to ax the district during a special legislative session after Disney said it wanted to see the Parental Rights bill, which LGBTQ activists see as an attack on queer and trans youth, repealed or blocked by the courts.
The decision to kill the Reedy Creek district, covering a 25,000-acre area that is home to Walt Disney World Resort, was widely seen as retaliation against Disney for its stance.
The taxpayer lawsuit asked the court to find the law dismantling Reedy Creek as unconstitutional. The 11-page complaint alleges that the state violated legal obligations forbidding it from dissolving the district without resolving its outstanding debt. The complaint is filed on behalf of four Florida...
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