As a widower takes Disney to court over his wife’s death at Walt Disney World and Resorts, the company is using its Disney+ streaming terms to attempt blocking the lawsuit.
In a recent filing, Disney’s attorneys requested Jeffrey Piccolo’s $50,000 case be dismissed and settled out of court after claiming his wife, Dr. Kanokporn Tangsuan, died of an allergic reaction at the Florida resort’s Raglan Road Irish Pub in October 2023.
They argued that by signing up for a free 30-day trial of Disney+ in 2019, and again when purchasing the theme park tickets in 2023 through his Disney+ account, Piccolo agreed to the streamer’s terms of service, which includes that “all disputes” with “The Walt Disney Company or its affiliates” be settled out of court via arbitration.
“We are deeply saddened by the family’s loss and understand their grief,” Disney’s attorneys said in a statement shared by The Guardian. “Given that this restaurant is neither owned nor operated by Disney, we are merely defending ourselves against the plaintiff’s attorney’s attempt to include us in their lawsuit against the restaurant.”
Piccolo’s attorneys said the argument “bordered on the surreal” in a response, adding, “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.
“In effect, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts 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 with Disney+.”