Disney has accused the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District of withholding records and information as part of a lawsuit filed against the company, according to Click Orlando.
- During a court hearing today, Disney requested that Orange County Circuit Court Judge Margaret Schreiber compel the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District to produce records and respond to written questions submitted by Disney.
- The Central Florida Tourism Oversight District claims much of the information requested by Disney is irrelevant to the lawsuit and, in some cases, is “too burdensome to compile.”
- Disney attorney Stephen Brody said this of the situation:
- “It’s enough to really get you to ask, ‘What is it they’re trying to hide here?’”
- The requested records include communications about agreements that may have been written or received on Central Florida Tourism Oversight District representatives’ personal electronic devices.
- Central Florida Tourism Oversight District attorney Paul Huck said the district is working to produce some of the discovery materials requested by Disney’s lawyers but insisted that it is fulfilling its obligations:
- “One of the things that has been a little frustrating is that Disney essentially is complaining that they don’t think that we produced enough documents. We’ve reviewed over 289,000 documents in response to this, including tens of thousands of documents that were reviewed from senior members of staff at the district.”
- Disney is also asking the judge to require the district to answer written questions regarding how the new board and district administrator were selected.
- Brody explained the request:
- “It’s a basic inquiry in a case where one of the central issues is whether actions have been directed by or coordinated with the governor’s office to harm Disney.”
- The District’s attorney argue the questions are irrelevant to the lawsuit and Huck responded to the request:
- “How and why the board and the district administrator were appointed or hired is irrelevant to whether those actions are lawful. That’s not what this case is about, and that’s not what Disney’s counterclaim is about.”
- Judge Schreiber said she will rule on Disney’s request at a later date.