Disney has been hit with a wrongful death lawsuit involving a 42-year-old New York doctor whose family claims had a fatal allergic reaction after eating at a restaurant at the Walt Disney World Resort last year.
Disney argues, however, that a Florida court should dismiss the lawsuit because the deceased's widow had agreed to settle any lawsuits against the entertainment conglomerate out of court when he signed up for a one-month trial of Disney+ in 2019, and acknowledged that he had reviewed the fine print.
"The Terms of Use, which were provided with the Subscriber Agreement, include a binding arbitration clause," Disney wrote in its motion. "The first page of the Subscriber Agreement states, in all capital letters, that 'any dispute between You and Us, Except for Small Claims, is subject to a class action waiver and must be resolved by individual binding arbitration'."
Jeffrey Piccolo, the widow of Kanokporn Tangsuan, and his lawyer suggest that the notion 150 million subscribers to the streaming service have waived all rights to sue Disney is "absurd." Mr Piccolo says the case should be heard in front of a jury in a court of law.
Prohibiting lawsuit 'outrageous,' argues lawyer
The idea "that terms agreed to by a consumer when creating a Disney+ free trial account would forever bar that consumer's right to a jury trial in any dispute with any Disney affiliate or subsidiary, is so outrageously unreasonable and unfair as to shock the judicial conscience, and this court should not enforce such an agreement," Brian Denney, Piccolo's attorney, wrote in the August 2 filing.
Piccolo's lawsuit was filed in February and claims that he, his wife and his mother dined at the Raglan Road Irish Pub in Disney Springs, an outdoor shopping, eating and entertainment venue at Disney World, on October 5, 2023.
After telling a staff member several times that she had an allergy to nuts and dairy products and required "allergen-free food," Tangsuan ordered the vegan fritter, scallops, onion rings and a vegan shepherd's pie.
The person serving the food then "guaranteed" that the order was without allergen, even though some of the items did not have "allergen free flags" on the menu, the lawsuit states.
Approximately 45 minutes after leaving the eatery, Tangsuan had trouble breathing, collapsed and eventually died in hospital, despite self-administering an EpiPen amid the allergic reaction, according to the lawsuit.
A medical investigation later determined that she died from "anaphylaxis due to elevated levels of dairy and nut in her system."
Disney's motion is set to be heard at an Orlando court on October 2.