Trial Date Set in Dispute Between Disney, DVC Contractor

Website FloridaPolitics.com reports that a trial date of April 22, 2024 has been set in the dispute between Disney and Validus Construction over the recent hard goods renovation of Saratoga Springs resort. 

In 2019, Winter Haven-based contractor Validus Construction was hired to manage the massive refurbishment of all 18 buildings located at the Disney Vacation Club property of Saratoga Springs. The project quickly fell behind schedule, with Validus claiming that fire code violations were discovered which added to the project cost and scope of work. 

In early 2020, work was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Soon after, Disney took steps to terminate the contract with Validus and later hired one of its subcontractors to complete the work. Validus filed suit against Disney in mid-2020, alleging that they were responsible for many of the issues encountered during the project. Additionally, at least one Disney project manager was accused of harrassing Validus both verbally and via text message. 

Disney later counter-sued Validus, citing a list of 23 deficiencies in its work.

Validus has also been sued by numerous subcontractors over non-payment for their services. As of February 2021, at least seven subcontractors had filed complaints against Validus over $1.58 million in unpaid fees. 

In the story on FloridaPolitics.com, Validus' attorney Thomas Allison is quoted as saying "There were issues that were uncovered, but kind of the simple way to think about it was that Disney asked for work that they were not willing to pay for." The refurbishment was completed in 2021. The total for the project was reportedly $13 million higher than the original deal with Validus.

No Disney entity, including Disney Vacation Club, has ever publicly commented on the allegation that the original building configuration did not comply with local fire codes. Disney has prepared a list of nearly 90 witnesses for what is expected to be a two-week bench trial.