Late in the afternoon, Disney asked an Orange County Circuit Court judge to declare that the Ron DeSantis-appointed Central Florida Tourism Oversight District was illegally withholding public records, and ordered Disney to release all requested outstanding records. He filed a motion ordering the department to immediately provide the information.
According to the complaint, Disney filed a public records request with CFTOD on May 11, 2023, seeking certain documents. The school district granted the request and received payment, but records were delayed for nearly four months without explanation. Disney issued a legal notice on Aug. 29, 2023, and the district later partially complied, citing technical issues and incomplete disclosures. After three more weeks of inaction, Disney issued a letter dated September 21, 2023, raising concerns about the district’s delays, vague technical issues, improper assertion of attorney-client privilege, and record-keeping practices. expressed.
“The delay is so extreme that CFTOD has yet to fully respond to the public records request Disney filed seven months ago in May of this year,” Disney said in a statement.
Below is an excerpt from the lawsuit detailing Disney’s complaints against CFTOD.
CFTOD has failed and failed to comply with public records obligations in a variety of ways, including:
a. Employees and officers may use personal devices, personal email addresses, text messages, and messaging applications on District business without proper processes in place to ensure that the public records involved are preserved or created. permission to use it.
b. Failed to ensure that board members did not use the automatic deletion feature for personal accounts used for district business.
c. Text messages that rely on board members or individual employees, including District Administrator Glenton Gilzean, to respond to public records requests without technical direction from the district or effort to confirm compliance. Or select email yourself.
d. Relyed solely on outside litigation counsel to collect public records contained in the personal email account of Board Chairman Martin Garcia without any process to verify compliance.and
e. Not storing data from the departing employee’s personal device.
Disney notes that 50 district employees have left the company, impacting its ability to provide service. The lawsuit also references testimony taken in CFTOD’s pending lawsuit against Disney, which recently said the new board was “extremely, extremely, extremely “It is politically motivated.”
This is Disney’s second lawsuit against the Ron DeSantis-appointed Central Florida Tourism Oversight District. Disney’s April 26, 2023 federal lawsuit was filed in response to Governor DeSantis’ attempt to replace the Reedy Creek Improvement District with a board of his own choosing. Disney’s lawsuit alleges DeSantis’ actions violated the First Amendment and other constitutional rights and were motivated by retaliation for the company’s opposition to so-called “Don’t Tell Me Gay” laws regarding parental rights in schools. claims.