Disney and the American state of Florida have reached an agreement on an amicable termination of the lawsuit related to the control of the area in which the theme park Walt Disney World in Orlando is located, thus ending the high-profile case in the context of the so-called. “culture war” from the United States, Reuters reports.

Disney announced in a press release Wednesday that it had reached a settlement with Florida and dropped a separate lawsuit in which it had asked the conservative southern state to provide it with a series of official documents.

The two sides have agreed to discuss a new draft governing the status of Disney World in Florida.

DeSantis and Disney have been embroiled in a high-profile dispute in the United States since 2022, when Bob Chapek, the former CEO of Disney, criticized Florida’s efforts to ban the discussion of sexuality and gender identity in school classrooms.

Officially called the Florida Parental Education Act, the legislation was signed into law in March 2022 by DeSantis, who has been seen as a “rising star” of the Republican Party in recent years, after it was passed by the Republican-controlled state legislature.

As Capek said Disney would actively oppose the bill, which opponents dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” law, DeSantis announced last February that he was ending Disney’s special status in Florida for more than half a century.

Since the establishment of its theme park in Florida in 1967, the American amusement giant has had the freedom to choose the members of the board of supervisors of the county where it is located, since it owns most of the land there.

This gave Disney almost complete control over all decisions related to local government, with the company effectively having the authority at the local level that the national government has.

Ron DeSantis waved his “sheriff” prerogatives at Disney.

However, DeSantis abolished the district in question and replaced it with a new administrative unit in which Disney owners, employees or operators are prohibited from serving on the board of supervisors.

“Today, the corporate kingdom is ending. There’s a new sheriff in town and accountability is the order of the day,” DeSantis said at the time during a news conference he held at a firehouse on Disney property.

“It’s been decades of subsidies and benefits that really only benefited this powerful company, and now we’re just leveling the playing field. And what’s good for SeaWorld is good for Disney,” the Republican governor added, noting that other Florida theme parks don’t enjoy the same benefits as Disney.

Disney has announced that it is suing Florida, claiming it is being targeted for “retaliation.”

A few months later, Disney hit back, announcing it had decided to abandon the nearly $900 million Florida employee campus, a project announced in 2021 before the controversial law was passed.

“Given the significant changes that have occurred since the announcement of this project, including new leadership and a changing economic environment, we have decided not to proceed with construction on the campus,” Disney Parks Director Josh D’Amaro said in May 2023. in a memo addressed to employees.

Disney checked Florida with a “royal point”

Disney also said the development agreement it signed with the former county board, initialed just a day before DeSantis dissolved the governing body, severely limits the control authorities can exercise over the company and the county where its Florida operations are located. .

The agreement included a “royal clause” in 1692 that extended Disney’s privileges for decades.

“The declaration will remain in force until 21 years after the death of the last surviving descendant of King Charles III, King of England, living at the time of this declaration,” according to the agreement signed between Disney and Disney. former local government.

The adoption of such a clause was made possible because the legal system of the United States is based on jurisprudential law (“common law”), as is the British judicial system.

While the terms of the agreement reached by Disney and Florida are not entirely clear, the company said in a press release that it “opens a new chapter in constructive discussions with the new leadership of the district.”

The agreement between the two sides comes after Florida officials also reached a settlement earlier in March with organizations that sued the state over the parental rights law.

Under the agreement, discussion of topics related to sexuality and gender identity will be allowed in classrooms, but their teaching will remain prohibited.