NEW YORK — Does signing up for Disney’s popular streaming service mean you’re committed to never suing the entertainment giant for any reason again?
Disney argues this in a Lawsuit for wrongful death This is a 42-year-old New York doctor whose family claims he suffered a fatal allergic response after eating at an Irish pub in Disney Springs in October.
Disney is asking a Florida court to dismiss a lawsuit filed against the corporate by Jeffrey Piccolo, the husband of Kanokporn Tangsuan, a family medicine physician at NYU Langone's Carle Place practice on Long Island.
The company argues that Piccolo agreed to settle any claims against Disney out of court through arbitration when he signed up for a one-month trial of Disney+ in 2019 and confirmed that he had read the superb print.
Disney also points out in its response that Piccolo agreed to an analogous arbitration clause when he opened an account on Disney's website and app prior to his ill-fated theme park visit.
But Piccolo's lawyer argued in a response filed earlier this month that it was “absurd” to assume that Disney+'s greater than 150 million subscribers had waived all rights to sue the corporate and its subsidiaries in perpetuity – even when their case had nothing to do with the favored streaming service.
“The notion that terms to which a consumer agrees when creating a free trial account for Disney+ would forever deprive that consumer of the right to a jury trial in any dispute with a Disney affiliate or subsidiary is so egregiously unreasonable and unfair that it shocks the judicial conscience, and this Court should not enforce such an agreement,” Brian Denney, Piccolo's attorney, wrote within the Aug. 2 motion.
Disney argued in its May 31 criticism that it was “irrelevant” whether Piccolo actually reviewed the terms of service, and noted that the arbitration clause “covers all disputes, including disputes involving the Walt Disney Company or its subsidiaries.”
Arbitration allows disputes to be resolved without resorting to a court. Typically, a neutral arbitrator will review the arguments and evidence before making a binding decision or award.
Disney said late Wednesday that it was “deeply saddened” by the family's loss, but stressed that the Irish pub is neither owned nor operated by the corporate. The company's position within the litigation has no bearing on the plaintiff's claims against the pub, it added.
“We are simply defending ourselves against an attempt by the plaintiff's attorney to involve us in his lawsuit against the restaurant,” the corporate wrote in an emailed statement.
Raglan Road, the Irish pub at Disney Springs where Tangsuan dined, didn’t reply to an email in search of comment Wednesday. Disney Springs is owned by Disney, which leases among the space within the outdoor dining, shopping and entertainment complex to other businesses.
In Piccolo's lawsuit, filed in February, he claims he, his wife and his mother decided to eat at Raglan Road on October 5, 2023 because Disney's website advertised “allergen-free food” there.
After repeatedly telling the waitress that she suffers from a severe allergy to nuts and dairy products, Tangsuan ordered the vegan doughnuts, scallops, onion rings and a vegan shepherd's pie.
The waiter then “guaranteed” that the food was allergen-free, regardless that some dishes weren’t served with the “allergen-free” label, the lawsuit says.
About 45 minutes after they finished dinner, Tangsuan began having difficulty respiration while shopping, collapsed and eventually died within the hospital, despite administering an EpiPen to herself throughout the allergic response, the lawsuit says.
A forensic investigation later determined that she died consequently of “anaphylactic shock due to elevated levels of dairy and nuts in her body,” the lawsuit states.
A hearing on Disney's motion is scheduled for October 2 in Orlando District Court. Piccolo is in search of greater than $50,000 in his lawsuit.
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