(Credit: Shutterstock / Koshiro K)
UPDATE 8/20: Disney has apparently realized its legal strategy was in poor taste. It tells The Verge that it will take a "sensitive approach" in this case. That doesn't mean paying up, however. Instead, it will "waive our right to arbitration and have the matter proceed in court."
Original Story:
Disney is claiming a lawsuit against the company over the death of a woman at Disney Springs should be tossed out because the woman’s husband signed up for a one-month trial of Disney+.
Yep, you read that right.
As the NY Post reports, Kanokporn Tangsuan died from an allergic reaction after dining at a Disney Springs restaurant last October. Tangsuan had stressed to the waitstaff she had nut and dairy allergies, but shortly after departing the restaurant, she experienced difficulty breathing and collapsed. Despite being administered an epi-pen, she later died at a local hospital.
Her husband, Jeffrey Piccolo, is seeing $50,000 in damages under Florida’s wrongful death act as well as money for mental pain and suffering, loss of income, and funeral expenses.
Disney lawyers, however, argue that the lawsuit should be dismissed because the Disney+ terms Piccolo agreed to when signing up for the streaming service in 2019 said he'd arbitrate all disputes except small claims rather than filing a lawsuit. The company argues he agreed to similar terms when he used the "My Disney Experience" app to buy tickets to visit the Epcot theme park a month before the incident at Disney Springs.
In a statement, Piccolo’s lawyers have called Disney’s claims "so outrageously unreasonable and unfair as to shock the judicial conscience." They also claim Piccolo’s lawsuit is on behalf of his late wife's estate, and as such, any agreements he signed do not apply here.