Walt Disney Parks and Resorts has filed a new lawsuit against the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District for a failure to comply with public records requests. The lawsuit is the continuation of complaints from Disney’s lawyers in a countersuit where Disney is suing the CFTOD for constitutional violations surrounding Development Agreements.
Disney says that the CFTOD’s failure to comply with public records laws “appears to stem from pressure put on CFTOD employees due to numerous departures since the installation of the District’s new Board of Supervisors…”
Disney took testimony from the District’s public records administrator who said that the current Board of Supervisors is “very, very, very politically motivated”. Disney says that the Board’s political motivation has come at a high price, noting that employees are leaving in large numbers, including at the director level. Disney notes that employees at the District are exhausted and that they lack confidence in the new Board and those who the new Board has hired. Disney says that this exhaustion has led to delays, and inadequate preservation, storage, and production of public records. Disney also argues that there are improper and unsupported claims of privilege.
Disney says that the delay is so extreme that the CFTOD has yet to fully respond to a public records request submitted seven months ago in May 2023. Disney even says that Board Chairman Martin Garcia insisted that the CFTOD public records department not have access to District-related documents stored on his personal device, instead “outsourcing this core government function to the same lawyers who are suing Disney”.
The District produced a “limited” number of documents related to Disney’s May 2023 request. Disney reviewed the documents and determined that the production “likely omits key documents that are likely to exist, including text messages, voicemails, and app-based messages”. In Disney’s complaint, they say that the District allowed employees to “self-select” information, and that the District had not taken steps to image or search employees devices to ensure that information is complete. The District did image the outgoing Chairman’s personal device, but has not bothered to do so for the current Board.
Disney has listed three counts in its complaint. Count one is an unjustified delay and failure to produce records. Count two is a violation of the public records act by failure to retain records. The third Count is a violation by failure to retrieve records.
Disney says that the CFTOD has “prevented Disney from discovering the actions of its government through public records requests, in violation of Florida law”.
Disney has asked the judge for an immediate hearing, and to give the case priority over other pending cases, per the Florida Statues. Disney has asked for a hearing during the week of January 2, 2024.
You can read Disney’s complaint, minus the exhibits, below.
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