Disney asked a court to dismiss a wrongful-death lawsuit filed by a widowed husband because he signed up for a free trial of Disney+ and purchased tickets to its theme park, according to court documents.
Jeffrey J. Piccolo first filed the lawsuit on behalf of his deceased wife, Kanokporn Tangsuan, in Central Florida in February.
Court documents said Tangsuan died on October 5, 2023, from a ‘”severe acute allergic reaction” after dining at Raglan Road Irish Pub and Restaurant at Disney Springs, which is an outdoor shopping and entertainment complex at Walt Disney World.
Tangsuan had severe dairy and nut allergies, prompting their family to eat at Raglan Road Irish Pub and Restaurant because they believed it would have the “proper safeguards.” Court documents said Tangsuan and Piccolo asked a staff member on “numerous occasions” if the establishment served allergen-free options, which they say a staff member confirmed.
But Tangsuan, a doctor from New York, was taken to a hospital after collapsing in Planet Hollywood, according to court documents. A medical examiner’s investigation determined that her cause of death resulted from “anaphylaxis due to elevated levels of dairy and nut in her system.”
“DISNEY failed to educate, train, and/or instruct its apparent agents at RAGLAN ROAD, including but not limited to, employees, waiters, waitresses, chefs, managers, workers, and/or cast-members to make sure food, indicated as allergen free on the menu and/or food requested to be made allergen free, was in fact free of allergens,” a complaint said.
Piccolo requested in excess of $50,000 in damages from Disney and the restaurant’s operator, Great Irish Pubs Florida, Inc.
Disney argues Piccolo must settle the matter out of court
In response to the lawsuit, Disney argues that Piccolo must settle with them outside court because he created a Disney account through the Disney+ website in 2019.
Registering for the account involved agreeing to the “Subscriber Agreement” and Terms of Use.
“The Terms of Use, which were provided with the Subscriber Agreement, include a binding arbitration clause. 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,” court documents said.
In court documents, the company said Piccolo accepted those terms again when he purchased theme park tickets online in 2023.
Disney said Piccolo’s Terms of Use agreements mean they must settle the matter through arbitration, which is a process that uses a neutral third party to settle the matter outside court.
“… Piccolo ignores that he previously created a Disney account and agreed to arbitrate ‘all disputes’ against ‘The Walt Disney Company or its affiliates’ arising ‘in contract, tort, warranty, statute, regulation, or other legal or equitable basis,'” Disney said in court documents. “This broad language covers Piccolo’s claims against WDPR. Because the parties agreed to arbitrate these claims, the court should compel arbitration and stay the proceedings.”
Piccolo’s attorneys have called Disney’s argument ‘fatally flawed’ and bordering on ‘surreal’
In a court document filed this month, Piccolo’s legal representatives criticized Disney’s argument as “fatally flawed” and “preposterous.”
Piccolo’s lawyers say Disney’s argument is “based on the incredible argument that any person who signs up for a Disney+ account, even free trials that are not extended beyond the trial period, will have forever waived the right to a jury trial enjoyed by them and any future Estate to which they are associated…”
Disney’s argument that its Terms of Use extend to personal injury and wrongful death claims “no matter how far removed” from Disney+ “borders on the surreal,” the document read.
Her husband urged a judge in court documents to reject Disney’s motion to dismiss the case, saying the company is “explicitly seeking to bar its 150 million Disney+ subscribers from ever prosecuting a wrongful death case against it in front of a jury even if the case facts have nothing to do with Disney+.”
“The notion 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,” the document said.
Representatives for Disney and Raglan Road Irish Pub did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
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