In December 2022, Disney creative director George Fong sold his beloved childhood home in Los Angeles and moved to Florida, where he plans to stay in a hotel until his Orlando home is finished.
Fong had been moving around the country for work-related reasons, leaving the state his family had lived in for generations. In his lawsuit filed in California Superior Court, Fong said that in July 2021, The Walt Disney Co. notified him and about 250 other employees that their roles as part of Disney’s parks, experiences and products team would be relocated to the company’s new Lake Nona campus in Florida.
But less than six months after selling the inherited home, Fong claims he and his colleagues were told the Lake Nona project was canceled and they would have to return to California if they wanted to continue in their roles.
As a result, Fong was left with a house that seemed impossible to sell: He put it on the market, but with no buyers he took it off after a month, then finally sold it about three months later.
Maria de la Cruz, Disney’s vice president of product design, has had a similar experience: In May 2022, she sold her home in Altadena, California, and moved with her family to Florida, and is in the process of moving back west to work in the company’s Glendale office.
The couple have filed a lawsuit, and hope to be joined by other plaintiffs, seeking unspecified damages from their employer. Their claims against Disney include intentional misrepresentation, concealment, negligent misrepresentation and employee inducement by misrepresentation.
Disney did not immediately respond. luck’Please comment.
Disney’s Lake Nona fiasco is the result of a confluence of issues: The $1 billion project was announced by former CEO Bob Chapek and, according to the lawsuit, will be packed with “co-working spaces, extensive meeting spaces, enhanced amenities, and efficient transportation.”
moreover, luck, Disney touted Orlando’s affordable housing market, excellent schools and lifestyle amenities.
But in 2022, Chapek left the $185 billion company and stalwart Bob Iger returned to the corner office. Iger inherited a feud with Ron DeSantis that led to the Florida governor’s takeover of the theme park resort. And on top of that bitter battle with the politician, of course, there was the COVID-19 pandemic.
As a result, Disney announced in May 2023 that it would cancel the plans. From Reuters“Significant changes have occurred since this project was announced, including new leadership and a changing business environment, and we have decided not to move forward with construction of the campus,” Disney Parks CEO Josh D’Amaro told staff.
“This was by no means an easy decision, but I believe it is the right one.”
Less attractive housing
Fong and de la Cruz say the decision has resulted in confusion and a deterioration in the quality of the homes they repurchased in California.
The lawsuit said Fong purchased a property in April that was “significantly smaller in size than his previous home in Los Angeles,” adding that “others in similar situations, besides Fong, have been forced to purchase or rent less attractive homes upon returning to California.”
Home prices in California are rising, and mortgage rates have continued to rise since the summer of 2022 and into the year ahead. According to the St. Louis FedThe average interest rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage in the U.S. was 5.09% in early June 2022. Nearly a year later, that figure has risen to 6.79%.
The complaint does not disclose how much damages the plaintiffs (represented by attorneys Jason S. Lohr and Roberto G. Ripamonti of the San Francisco-based law firm of Lohr, Ripamonti & Segarich) are seeking, but Fong already seems disappointed with the proposals Disney has made so far.
The lawsuit adds that Fong met with Disney managers to discuss the relocation and the resulting damages (such as home values). Lake Nona rises as Disney unveils campusFong alleges that he was “deeply disappointed” with the offer he was offered, which dropped substantially once the company announced its cancellation. Despite his and de la Cruz’s outrage, the suit states: [their] Job security and ability [their] The role depended [their] return.”
Lohr and Ripamonti did not immediately respond. luck’Please comment.