A panel appointed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to oversee Disney’s special district has voted to sue Disney, the latest in an escalating feud between the state’s Republican governor and the entertainment giant.
It comes a week after Disney filed a lawsuit against Mr. DeSantis.
The board has “no choice now but to respond to Disney’s lawsuit,” said CEO Martin Garcia on Monday.
“We will seek justice in our own backyard,” he said, US media reported.
The Central Florida Tourism Oversight District is expected to formally file the lawsuit later Monday.
The BBC has reached out to Disney for comment.
The row between Florida’s Republican governor and Disney began after Disney criticized the state’s parental rights in education law, which critics dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” law.
The measure initially banned teaching about sexual orientation and gender identity to students up to the age of nine and was recently extended to all grade levels.
The feud with Disney — which opened urban-scale Walt Disney World in Florida in 1971 and is one of the state’s largest employers — has raised the profile of Mr. DeSantis, who is widely viewed as a potential Republican presidential nominee.
After the company expressed its opposition to the bill early last year, Mr. DeSantis sought to exercise more government control over Orlando’s Disney theme parks.
He signed a bill in February that would place Disney under multi-layered oversight from a five-member state-appointed board of directors.
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But the governing body said its powers have been curtailed by a last-minute deal that gives the entertainment giant almost complete control over development in the district.
State officials later canceled the agreement.
Disney asked the court to reverse that move in its own lawsuit against Mr. DeSantis, arguing it was part of a broader effort by the governor “in retaliation for expressing a policy position unpopular with certain state officials that violated government power.” use Disney”.
The entertainment company alleged that Mr. DeSantis conducted “a targeted government retaliation campaign” against the company.
Mr. DeSantis has pledged to accept and win “every single issue with Disney.”
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