A federal court judge on Tuesday dismissed a lawsuit filed by several Florida property owners who argued that the state’s move to dissolve Disney World’s self-governing special district is unconstitutional and would lead to higher taxes.
Judge Cecilia Altonaga found that plaintiffs Michael Foronda, Edward Foronda and Vivian Gorsky lack standing to file the case, which alleged that the bill passed by the state Legislature and signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis represents a violation of Disney’s First Amendment rights and a violation of the Florida Bill of Rights for Taxpayers.
DeSantis called for the dissolution of Disney’s Reedy Creek Improvement District in the wake of the company’s opposition to the state’s new "Parental Rights in Education" bill, which the governor championed.
Attorney Will Sanchez, who filed the lawsuit on behalf of the taxpayers, said he was undeterred by the judge’s dismissal.
“Since (the) order is without prejudice, we will be filing an amended complaint within a few days,” Sanchez told the Florida Record in an email. “Sometimes plaintiffs have to file five or six amended complaints until the judge finally accepts it. This is just the beginning of the battle.”
Altonaga also found other allegations in the original May 3 complaint problematic.
“Plaintiffs do not plausibly allege they have suffered any concrete injury as a result of the alleged violation of Disney’s First Amendment rights, and nothing in the complaint shows (the) plaintiffs have a close relationship with Disney,” she said in her dismissal order. “Even more critically, plaintiffs have not plausibly alleged that Disney faces any hindrance in asserting its own First Amendment rights.”
Sanchez said a flaw in the new Florida law is that Reedy Creek now carries a bonded debt of between $1 billion and $2 billion.
“In accordance with the 1967 statute establishing Reedy Creek, that debt had to be discharged before the district could be closed,” he said. “The Legislature established a closing date of April 2023 but never addressed which party would become responsible for the debt.”
The lawsuit notes that fiscal experts have concluded that the tax burden from the dissolution of the district would be placed on taxpayers in Orlando and Osceola counties.
“We do believe the decision to dissolve the district was illegal,” Sanchez said.
In signing the bill, SB 4-C, DeSantis said the effect of the new law would not be to cause tax increases. He and state lawmakers will propose additional legislation to create new special districts in a way that assures transparency and treats all parties equally, a news release from the Governor’s Office states.