Disney Drops Request to Settle wrongful death Lawsuit Out of Court 

Disney Drops Request to Settle wrongful death Lawsuit Out of Court 

Staff Writer

Erin Araneta

After claims that a widower could not sue Disney in court over the death of his wife at a Disney Springs restaurant because he agreed to the terms and conditions when signing up for the Disney+ streaming service years prior, Disney has dropped its request to settle the wrongful-death lawsuit out of court on Monday, August 18 following backlash, according to Reuters. 

Following the death of his wife, Dr. Kanokporn Tangsuan, in October 2023 after a severe allergic reaction at Disney Springs’ Raglan Road Irish Pub in Florida, Jeffrey Piccolo filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the entertainment company for damages exceeding $50,000 in February, reports The Guardian. 

According to The New York Times, Piccolo’s lawsuit alleges that the wait staff at the Disney Springs restaurant was negligent after Piccolo and Dr. Tangsuan, a Long Island family medicine specialist, were assured that her dishes were allergen-free. After eating, Dr. Tangsuan began to suffer an anaphylactic attack and collapsed. She died in a nearby hospital.

However, according to The Guardian, Disney had requested that the matter be settled out of court due to an arbitration clause in the terms and conditions Piccolo agreed to when he briefly signed up for a one-month trial subscription to Disney+ in 2019, and again when he used his Disney+ account last year to buy the park tickets. Disney claims that Piccolo agreed to Disney’s terms of use, which state that users agree to settle any disputes with the company out of court through arbitration. But, following multiple news reports and subsequent backlash, Disney has withdrawn its request, allowing for the case to be heard in front of a jury, according to The New York Times. 

Josh D’Amaro, chairperson of Disney’s theme park division, told BBC News, “We believe this situation warrants a sensitive approach to expedite a resolution for the family who have experienced such a painful loss.” Then agreed to waive the Company’s arbitration clause and have the case proceed in court.

According to BBC News, in arbitration, a neutral third party oversees a dispute, benefiting those who want to avoid a lengthy trial. Now, a jury is able to hear the evidence. Brian Denney, Piccolo’s lawyer said, “Attempts by corporations like Disney to avoid jury trials should be looked at with skepticism.”

Many speculate that Disney’s reversal comes from the “adverse publicity” generated by its initial legal strategy, including Jamie Cartwright, a partner at the law firm Charles Russell Speechlys. Cartwright told BBC News that Disney’s attempt to make the situation private pushed the already-tenuous lawsuit into a bad spotlight in the public, which most likely prompted the entertainment company to drop its request and allow the case to be heard by a jury. 

The case began in October 2023, when Piccolo, Dr. Tangsuan, and her mother ate at Raglan Road Irish Pub and Restaurant. They allegedly chose the restaurant because Disney and the restaurant advertised that accommodating those with food allergies was a top priority, reports Reuters. Because of Dr. Tangsuan’s severe allergies to nuts and dairy, the couple continuously asked the restaurant’s waiter for reassurance that their food was allergen-free. When their orders, including dishes, arrived without allergen-free flags, the server assured Dr. Tangsuan that the dishes were safe to eat, according to The New York Times. But less than an hour after finishing their dinner, Dr. Tangsuan had difficulty breathing and self-administered an EpiPen. Despite this, she collapsed and died at a hospital, according to Piccolo’s lawsuit.

The lawsuit states that she passed away because of “anaphylaxis due to elevated levels of dairy and nuts in her system,” as reported by The Associated Press. 

Legal experts view Disney’s initial claim of arbitration as a “big legal stretch,” as Daniel Zuniga, a partner at Personal Injury of Florida law firm who is unaffiliated with the lawsuit, tells The Guardian. Furthermore, according to The Associated Press, Piccolo’s lawyer, Denney, argued in a response filed earlier in August that it was “absurd” to believe that the streaming service’s millions of subscribers have waived all rights to sue the company because of fine print in the terms and conditions often overlooked by users when signing up for Disney+.

A hearing has been scheduled for October 2, 2024, at 10 a.m. 

Image courtesy of Getty Images