Florida legislation that was designed to hamstring Disney could end up helping the company, at least in relation to a lawsuit in state court over development at Walt Disney World near Orlando.
Gov. Ron DeSantis and Disney have been sparring for more than a year over a special tax district that encompasses Disney World. The fight started when the company criticized a Florida education law labeled by opponents as “Don’t Say Gay” — angering Mr. DeSantis.
His punitive actions since then, and Disney’s efforts to protect itself, have resulted in a federal lawsuit, which Disney filed on April 26, that accused Mr. DeSantis and his allies of engaging in a “targeted campaign of government retaliation.”
The tax district — newly controlled by Mr. DeSantis — responded by suing Disney in state court. Filed on May 1, the district’s lawsuit seeks to nullify contracts with Disney that lock in development plans for the resort. A few days later, the Florida Legislature, at the…
This article was written by Brooks Barnes and originally published on www.nytimes.com