The corporation are seeking to dismiss the $50,000 lawsuit brought by widower Jeffrey J. Piccolo
This story serves as a warning for people who just click “agree” on the terms and conditions without actually taking the time to read them.
Disney is trying to get rid of a lawsuit about wrongful death that a man filed after his wife passed away. He claims that the company is responsible because he signed up for their streaming service a few years back.
In February of this year, Jeffrey J. Piccolo started a lawsuit against Disney Parks and Resorts after his wife, Dr. Kanokporn Tangsuan, who was 42 years old, sadly passed away due to an allergic reaction she had at one of their restaurants.
A family doctor from New York University’s Langone Hospital Long Island went out to eat at the Raglan Road Irish Pub and Restaurant in Disney World Orlando with her husband and mother-in-law on October 5, 2023.
Piccolo’s lawsuit states that they clearly informed the restaurant staff about Tangsuan’s allergies to dairy and nuts, and the couple was assured that the food was definitely safe for her to eat.
Jeffrey J. Piccolo and Dr. Kanokporn Tangsuan were visiting a Disney Springs restaurant when tragedy struck (Facebook/ Jeffrey Piccolo)
About 45 minutes after finishing her meal, the doctor unexpectedly had an allergic reaction while she was shopping at Planet Hollywood in the Florida resort, and she fell to the ground.
Tangsuan received her EpiPen and was quickly taken to the hospital, but unfortunately, they were unable to save her.
The cause of her death was determined to be an accident, and it happened because she had a serious allergic reaction known as anaphylaxis.
Piccolo took legal action against the restaurant and the Walt Disney Company, claiming that his wife’s death could have been completely avoided if they had followed the right procedures.
The lawsuit says that Disney didn’t do a good job of teaching or training its workers to ensure that food labeled as allergen-free or made allergen-free really didn’t have any allergens in it.
The man who lost his wife was asking for $50,000 in compensation.
Disney are seeking to dismiss the wrongful death lawsuit due to the widower signing up to Disney+ (Gary Hershorn/Getty Images)
Disney is working to get the wrongful death lawsuit thrown out and moved to arbitration instead. They argue that this is based on the agreement Piccolo made when he signed up for a Disney+ account back in 2019.
The BBC reported that he also agreed to the same rules and conditions when he bought tickets to the Disney theme park in 2023.
When he signed up for a one-month trial on the streaming service, Disney claims that Piccolo accepted the rules in their ‘Subscriber Agreement’ found in section seven.
It says that if there are any disagreements, users have to settle them through arbitration instead of going to court. This means that a neutral person will help solve the issue instead of a judge or jury making the decision in a formal court setting.
Disney’s explanation says that the first part of the Subscriber Agreement clearly states, in big letters, that “if there’s a disagreement between you and us, except for small claims, you can’t join a class action lawsuit and must settle it through individual arbitration.”
The lawsuit claims that the 42-year-old medic repeatedly asked whether the food was allergen-free (Facebook)
Piccolo’s lawyers have called this idea ‘ridiculous,’ claiming that the company is trying to hide the strange agreement in the fine print of the terms and conditions.
On August 2, lawyer Brian Denney from West Palm Beach filed a document in court saying it was really unfair to think that people would know about this rule. He also asked the court not to make them go through arbitration.
Disney’s lawyers explained that people who subscribe need to click on checkboxes that link to the terms of use. They also have to check another box that shows they agree to those terms. If they don’t do this, they can’t click ‘Agree & Continue.’
A Disney representative shared with LADbible Group: “We are really sorry to hear about the family’s loss and we understand how they feel. Since this restaurant is not owned or run by Disney, we are just trying to protect ourselves from the lawyer’s efforts to involve us in their lawsuit against the restaurant.”
Disney stated that its role does not impact any claims for wrongful death or other issues that the plaintiff might have against the restaurant.
No matter what, it really shows that you should always make sure to check what you’re saying yes to.
Featured Image Credit: Facebook / Jeffrey Piccolo
