In December 2022, George Fong, a creative director at Disney, sold his beloved childhood home in Los Angeles and moved to Florida — sleeping in a hotel while his Orlando home was ready.
Fong had moved across the country — leaving the state where his family had lived for generations — for work. In a lawsuit filed in California Superior Court, Fong noted that in July 2021 Walt Disney Co. informed him and about 250 other employees that their roles — as part of the Disney park team, experiences and products — were moving to the new Lake Nona campus in Florida.
However, less than six months after selling the house he inherited, Fong claims he and his peers were told the Lake Nona project was canceled and they would have to return to California if they wanted to keep their roles.
That left Fong with a seemingly unsaleable house: He listed it and then pulled it off the market after a month, given the lack of offers, before finally selling it about three months later.
The story is similar for Maria De La Cruz, who works for Disney as vice president of product design. In May 2022, De La Cruz sold her house in Altadena, California, and moved with her family to Florida. She is also now in the process of returning West to work in the company’s Glendale offices.
The pair have launched the lawsuit — and hope other plaintiffs will join them — seeking unspecified damages from their employer. The allegations against Disney include willful misrepresentation, concealment, negligent misrepresentation and inducing the employee to misrepresent.
Disney did not immediately respond wealth’s request for comment.
The saga of Disney’s Lake Nona was the result of a confluence of issues. The $1 billion project was announced by former CEO Bob Chapek and — according to the suit — would be filled with “collaborative workspaces, large group gathering spaces, extensive amenities and efficient transportation options.”
Moreover, according to the first lawsuit by wealth, Disney touted Orlando’s affordable housing market, good schools and lifestyle amenities.
However, in 2022, Chapek left the $185 billion company and the stalwart Bob Iger returned to the corner office. Iger inherited a feud with Ron DeSantis, which led to the Florida governor’s takeover of the theme park resort. And at the top of the fierce battle with the politician was, of course, the COVID-19 pandemic.
So, in May 2023, Disney announced that it had abandoned the plan. Per Reuters, Disney parks chief Josh D’Amaro told staff: “Given the significant changes that have occurred since the announcement of this project, including new leadership and changing business conditions, we have decided not to proceed forward with campus construction.
“This was not an easy decision to make, but I believe it is the right one.”
Less desirable homes
The consequences of the decision, say Fong and De La Cruz, are not only unrest, but also the fact that the houses they now buy in California are of worse quality.
According to the lawsuit, Fong purchased a property in April with “less square footage than his previous home in Los Angeles,” adding, “in addition to Mr. Fong, other similarly situated individuals have been forced to purchase or rent residences less desirable go back to California.”
In addition to rising home prices in California, mortgage rates had also continued to rise between the summer of 2022 and a year later. According to the St. Louis Fed. Almost exactly a year later, this figure had risen to 6.79%.
While the damages sought by the plaintiffs — represented by attorneys Jason S. Lohr and Roberto G. Ripamonti of San Francisco-based Lohr Ripamonti & Segarich LLP — were not made clear in the filing, it appears Fong has already been disappointed by Disney’s offers. has done so far.
The lawsuit adds that Fong met with managers at Disney to discuss his relocation and the damages he would suffer as a result (Lake Nona home prices spiked when Disney announced its campus, then plummeted when the company announced its cancellation ), but was “extremely disappointed” with the offer. Despite his anger, the lawsuit adds, Fong and De La Cruz both returned to California because they “realized that [their] job security and ability to perform [their] role depended on [their] come back.”
Lohr and Ripamonti did not immediately respond wealth’s request for comment.