Florida's Latest News

Disney’s efforts to out-maneuver DeSantis fall short under new settlement, lawsuits to be dismissed

Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office is celebrating another legal victory over Disney after a new settlement was reached between the state-appointed Central Florida board and the company on Wednesday.

Under the agreement, Disney is set to drop its lawsuit against the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, and the district will drop its own lawsuit against Disney. Claims and counterclaims from both parties would be dismissed as well. Disney is also set to drop a public records effort part of the legal battle.

The legal battles were over last-minute, far-reaching restrictive covenants and agreements, which gave Disney broad power and developmental rights over its former self-governing improvement district of Reedy Creek, which was dissolved and replaced last year.

The agreements by Disney were flaunted by the media as “legal humiliation,” and as a move aimed to “mess up DeSantis’ power grab” over the Walt Disney World area.

Calls to Florida gambling help line doubled after launch of online sports betting

Calls to Florida’s problem gambling help line doubled in the month after the Seminole Tribe of Florida launched a sports betting app late last year, according to numbers from the Florida Council on Compulsive Gambling Inc.

The council, a not-for-profit that runs the help line, said calls increased by 100% in mid-December compared to the month prior, after the tribe launched its Hard Rock Bet app statewide to people 21 and over.

The app went live late last year despite outstanding legal battles in state and federal courts. Hard Rock — which initially launched a sports betting app in 2021 and then shut it down amid court challenges — relaunched the app in November on a limited basis before expanding access the next month.

Jennifer Kruse, executive director of the Florida Council on Compulsive Gambling, said increased access to online gambling is likely one factor for the spike in calls to the help line. But she cautioned that it’s too soon to fully evaluate the impact of the Hard Rock app’s launch.

The latest on Florida State, ACC dueling lawsuits

The dueling lawsuits between Florida State and the ACC are playing out in courts: Florida State University Board of Trustees vs. Atlantic Coast Conference and Atlantic Coast Conference vs. Board of Trustees of Florida State University.

We’re using this as a landing spot for the latest updates with FSU’s case (filed in Leon County) and the ACC’s case (filed in Mecklenburg County, N.C.) as the Seminoles pursue a potential exit from the league — a move that could trigger another round of conference realignment.

The latest (March 26, 2024): While FSU’s lawsuit against the ACC played out publicly, discussion around Clemson’s litigation was quieter. According to the ACC, Clemson “authorized the filing of litigation against the Conference as early as 2023.”

I don’t yet know how or when the suit was authorized, but minutes from Clemson board of trustees meetings add smoke to the ACC’s claim. On Feb. 3 and April 21 of last year, the full board went into executive session, in part, “to receive legal advice regarding media rights agreements.” Those closed sessions spanned more than five hours total. The executive and audit committee also went into executive session on Feb. 2 and Oct. 6 for counsel on “athletic media rights” or “athletics media agreements.”

Vacation rental companies cry foul over bill restricting local rules

 A persistently contentious debate about regulating vacation rentals has escalated into a clash between two powerful industry groups after the Florida Legislature passed a measure that would significantly restrict how local governments can oversee such properties.

The bill has drawn intense opposition from vacation rental management companies, coastal community leaders and Florida Realtors, an influential industry group urging Gov. Ron DeSantis to veto the measure.

“The bill fails to strike a fair balance between the rights of private property owners to rent their property on a short-term basis and the ability of local governments to regulate these rentals,” a website set up by Florida Realtors says. The website allows visitors to submit emails detailing complaints about the bill directly to the governor’s office.

Meanwhile, the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association, also a politically prominent industry group, has enlisted its members and is appealing to the governor to sign the bill (SB 280).