ORLANDO, Fla. — A federal appeals court granted The Walt Disney Co. a two-month delay Monday in its still-pending legal battle with Gov. Ron DeSantis and state officials.

Disney settled separate lawsuits in state court last month and asked for a 60-day delay in filing its opening brief in federal court to “facilitate” further negotiations.

As of late, both sides have said they want to work together on economic development as Disney plans to invest billions of dollars into its theme parks over the next decade.

Disney and DeSantis officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.

The lawsuits stemmed from a state law that changed the makeup of the decades-old Reedy Creek Improvement District, the governing board that oversees fire protection and other government services for Disney World. That law gave DeSantis the ability to appoint the district’s five board members and changed the Reedy Creek’s name to the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District.

Disney filed the federal lawsuit against DeSantis and the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District in April 2023, accusing them of engaging in political retaliation because the company opposed legislation known by critics as the “don’t say gay” bill. That law limited classroom instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation.

U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor dismissed that lawsuit in January. Disney appealed to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

The tourism oversight district also sued Disney in state court, asking a judge to void development agreements that tied the hands of new DeSantis-appointed board members.

The oversight board and Disney settled that state lawsuit on March 27. Disney agreed that the development agreements would be void and withdrew another lawsuit seeking public records from the district. In exchange, the district agreed to consult with Disney while amending or changing the 2020 development plan.

As for the federal lawsuit, the settlement stipulated Disney would “seek, and the district will not oppose, permission from the court to defer briefing,” pending negotiations of a new development agreement between Disney and the district, among other matters.

The Atlanta-based appeals court pushed back the deadline from April 17 to June 17.

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