The Central Florida Tourism Oversight District has filed a response to Disney’s Motion to Compel Discovery, in which they refuse to hand over the documents requested by Disney.

Central Florida Tourism Oversight District Responds to Disney’s Motion to Compel

The Central Florida Tourism Oversight District states in the response that they have already turned over the agreed-upon records. The District states they produced 1,209 documents in October 2023 — mostly records from John Classe, the former District Administrator. Disney requested more documents and the District produced 888 in November 2023. The District produced another 283 in December 2023.

Disney wants more records from the District’s Board members, but the District states in the new filing that these documents are privileged and listed on the District’s privilege logs, which Disney has not objected to.

Disney’s Motion to Compel Discovery stated they needed certain documents to “fairly defend itself against the District’s claims and advance its counterclaims.”

The District writes in its response:

Despite Disney’s detailed recounting of alleged discovery grievances, its Motion is woefully deplete of any meaningful category of records it thinks exist and yet has not been received. Whether or not Disney believes the universe of responsive documents is only a couple thousand large, that is in fact the relevant universe. The District has scoured tens of thousands of documents in search of anything related to the Development Agreement, the Restrictive Covenants, the Legislative Declaration, and certain other, agreed-upon topics, and the universe of documents is what it is. At most, Disney seems upset that the District’s productions took a bit longer than estimated. That grievance hardly justifies the Motion before the Court.

The District also claims their counsel was in communication with Disney and that Disney didn’t give them any ultimatum or warn them they were filing the Motion to Compel Discovery.

“Disney’s smoking gun is filled with blanks,” the District states regarding two documents Disney received in a public records request. Disney uses these documents to prove that the District’s produced discovery is incomplete, while the District states privilege is different through a public records request than through litigation.

In October, Disney requested and received a 75-day continuance because, as they stated, the District “has been dodging its obligations to produce concededly relevant discovery while rushing consideration of its motion for summary judgment.”

Disney provided the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District with their own discovery in August 2023.

A hearing regarding discovery is scheduled for tomorrow, January 23, 2024.

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