The entertainment giant wants a court to nullify the state's efforts to exert control over Walt Disney World in Orlando. The lawsuit was filed minutes after a DeSantis-appointed oversight board voted to rescind the agreements signed in February that allowed the company to expand the theme park and maintain control over neighboring land.
Disney called the state government's action "manifestly repressive, manifestly anti-business and manifestly unconstitutional".
It added: "At the governor's behest, the state oversight board has sought to 'rescind' publicly noticed and duly agreed-upon development contracts, which laid the groundwork for billions of dollars of Disney investment and thousands of jobs.
"The governor and his allies have made it clear they don't care and won't stop".
The lawsuit is a dramatic escalation of a year-long battle between DeSantis and one of the largest employers in his state.
Last year, DeSantis opposed the self-governing powers that Disney had long maintained after it objected to his "no-gay" laws, which deal with teaching gender and LGBTQ+ issues in Florida schools.
In response, Disney, which historically appointed members to its oversight board, established covenants to prevent such powers from falling into the hands of DeSantis' appointed board.
Just before the governor's allies took control, the Disney board granted the company power over future development in the area, covering 27,000 acres, in perpetuity, overriding any power DeSantis' allies might take.
DeSantis said he would strike back, joking with reporters about the possibility of building a new state prison near Disney World Park.
In its lawsuit, Disney described its "immeasurable impact on Florida and its economy, establishing Central Florida as a world-class tourist destination and attracting tens of millions of visitors to the state each year".
The company employs at least 75,000 people in the park and receives 50 million visitors annually.
The Florida state government's campaign against Disney, the lawsuit said, was "orchestrated at every step by Governor DeSantis as punishment for Disney's protected speech [and] now threatens Disney's business operations, endangers its economic future in the region and violates its constitutional rights".
DeSantis did not immediately respond publicly. Jeremy Redfern, his press secretary, said in a statement posted on Twitter: "We are not aware of any legal right a company has to operate its own government or maintain special privileges not afforded other businesses in the state. This lawsuit is another regrettable example of their hope to undermine the will of Florida voters and operate outside the bounds of the law."
However, DeSantis has already suffered political damage from the fight, with conservatives concerned about the government's use of power against private companies. Thomas Peterffy, an online trading billionaire, cited DeSantis' policies on LGBTQ+ in schools, the issue at the center of the fight with Disney, before giving $1 million to Glenn Youngkin, the governor of Virginia.
Beyond any legal outcome, it is clear that public opinion does not agree with this conflict, and in some way Disney is creating an exaggerated drama and misrepresentation about something that most companies have accepted. An agreement on this issue is perfectly natural in a coherence of harmony between the state and private sectors.
Clearly, no one wants a conflict of this nature in a highly competitive Florida, and this concerns both parties. Therefore, the most logical and rational thing to do would be to reach a total agreement and for both sides to make some concessions, but above all, not to use ideological concepts but values such as freedom and respect to negotiate the agreements.