Federal Judge Dismisses Osceola County Taxpayers’ Reedy Creek Lawsuit Against Governor DeSantis

Katie Francis

Federal Judge Dismisses Osceola County Taxpayers’ Reedy Creek Lawsuit Against Governor DeSantis

A federal judge has officially dismissed the case against Governor Ron DeSantis filed by Osceola County taxpayers, according to the Orlando Sentinel. The lawsuit alleged that the bill signed into law by Governor DeSantis to dissolve the Reedy Creek Improvement District violated the Taxpayer Bill of Rights.

The residents’ concern is that they and other taxpayers will have to shoulder Disney’s $1 billion in bond debt if Reedy Creek is dissolved. Experts have estimated Disney’s bond debt to be between $1 billion and $2 billion, which would likely be transferred to residents of the local counties, increasing their property taxes by up to $2,200.

The lawsuit was dismissed because the law in question does not take effect until 2023 and the federal court does not have jurisdiction over a state issue. The judge also said that the law would have no direct effect on the plaintiffs.

The plaintiffs’ lawyer intends to refile the lawsuit.

Source: Orlando Sentinel

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6 thoughts on “Federal Judge Dismisses Osceola County Taxpayers’ Reedy Creek Lawsuit Against Governor DeSantis”

  1. It’s interesting that ‘experts’ say, “likely be transferred to residents of the local counties…” leaves out the qualifier – unless local and state governments pass a levy on Disney properties to cover the costs of any debts and services, which is actually a gold mine if revenue for taxpayers that they have previously not been able to access. Disney management needs to very seriously focus on getting out of politics, providing excellent, profitable products and services to customers, and negotiate to keep Reedy Creek.

    Taxpayers may indeed suffer some chaos if Reedy Creek is dissolved next year but Disney stands to loose hundreds of billion$ over the course of the next 10 years on top of the nearly $200,000,000,000.00 that Disney’s company value has lost since last year.

    • A lien is what you are talking about, not a levy. A levy is the taking of property to satisfy a tax debt, a lien is a claim on the property. Regardless, it is not legal for that to happen. The debts of a municipality are paid by taxpayers by taxes, not taking of property. Neither Orange County or Osceola County is going to seize a private company’s assets to satisfy a municipal debt because that is not legal. It would be like the state of Michigan seizing the Renaissance Center because of Detroit’s bankruptcy filling.

      As for the financials, how is Disney going to lost atleast ten billion a year from WDW? They pay taxes already to the counties and RCID, they would actually pay less in taxes because they would only be paying the counties.

      As for political speech by the Walt Disney Company, the Supreme Court says that they have the right to it. They are expressing that speech to support their employees.

      The only entity that should reexamine the use of their time and resources is the Governor of Florida and his political allies.

  2. The problem with this is that the Supreme Court by the Citizens’ United decision has stated that corporations are allowed to voice their opinions on political matters and donate monies to them. Don’t see why telling Disney to stay out but allowing the Koch Brothers to continue is okay.

    I’m much more concerned about an elected official using his position to ‘punish’ those who disagree with him.

  3. Bad case of the tail wagging the dog. Disney went all on a false narrative pushed by a vocal 2 percent. Tolerance is one thing demanding endorsement of a cause is another. Leave your issues at the gate and just enjoy the park. Wacky Granddaughter gets her way right into bankruptcy.

  4. I love how alot of news outlets left out a very simple fact Universal Studios and Busch Gardens have no special district they pay taxes to both counties and everything is going fine. The only reason that Disney established a special district is that they were trying to circumvent local building laws and do what they want to do. The news media is totally lying because whatever taxes are paid to Ready Creek will be paid to the other counties absorbing those services so it is a wash. But nobody wants to say that the taxes that go to Ready Creek will now go to the other counties because then the news is not so dramatic, so get the news straight.

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