Disney’s lawyers argued in court Tuesday that the oversight district aligned with Gov. Ron DeSantis is failing to turn over emails and text messages that could be pertinent to the company’s legal dispute with the state.

The entertainment giant wants to see communications, including those on personal devices, between the governor’s office and the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District’s board and employees.

“The district appears to have made no effort to search for, collect, or review documents from personal email accounts or mobile devices of district board members or employees,” Steve Brody, a lawyer representing Disney, told Orange Circuit Court Judge Margaret Schreiber.

Brody asked the judge to order the district to produce the records within seven days. She took the matter under advisement and will issue a ruling later.

Paul Huck, a lawyer for the tourism oversight district, disputed Disney’s claim. He said officials have reviewed nearly 300,000 documents. The additional information sought by Disney isn’t relevant to the core issue of the lawsuit, which centers on a development agreement limiting the new board’s authority, Huck also told the judge.

“The core issue in this case … is the legal validity of a development agreement and restrictive covenants that were entered into by the former board on their way out the door,” Huck said. “None of the new board members are involved in that process, and the new district administrator did not take his job until May.”

Brody countered that the district should be required to do a comprehensive records search, including for work-related communications on personal devices. He also questioned why the district’s lawyers are trying to block Disney’s investigation into the selection process for the new board and district administrator Glen Gilzean.

“They’re saying we don’t get to inquire and even discover who was involved in the decision to pick these new board members and to pick the new district administrator,” he said. “It’s enough to really get you to ask, ‘What is it that they are trying to hide here?’”

DeSantis replaced Disney loyalists on the board with five Republicans in February as part of an overhaul of the special district providing government services to Disney World. But when new board members took over, they discovered the previous Disney-friendly board had approved an agreement limiting their authority over development.

The new DeSantis district sued in state court, asking a judge to declare the agreement void. Disney sued in federal court, alleging DeSantis and state officials engaged in a “targeted campaign of government retaliation” that violated the company’s First Amendment rights.

A third lawsuit filed by Disney in state court accuses the district of violating the public records law by not fully complying with requests promptly. A hearing in that case is set for Thursday morning.

The Disney-DeSantis feud started in 2022 over the company’s opposition to legislation critics called the “don’t say gay” bill. That law limited classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity.