Disney Wants Wrongful Death Lawsuit Moved Out Of Court Because Man Had Disney+

A man whose wife died from an allergic reaction after eating at an Irish pub at Walt Disney World Resort is responding to the company’s argument that his wrongful death lawsuit should be moved out of court because of terms he agreed to when signing up for a free trial of Disney+ in 2019.

Attorneys representing Jeffrey Piccolo, a New York doctor, in his lawsuit against Walt Disney Parks and Resort and Great Irish Pubs, which operates Raglan Road Irish Pub, called the company’s argument “preposterous” in a 123-page response filed earlier this month. In May, the entertainment behemoth had filed a motion to move the case from a circuit court in Orange County, Florida, to a private, third-party arbitrator.

Court documents filed by Piccolo’s attorneys said that his wife, Kanokporn Tangsuan , 42 and also a doctor, had a severe dairy and nut allergy. In October, the couple dined at Raglan Road Irish Pub with Piccolo’s mother during their visit to Disney Springs, a shopping complex at Disney World, because the restaurant had advertised that it would accommodate guests with allergies.

Disney Springs’ Raglan Road Irish Pub and Restaurant webpage says , “Guests may consult with a chef or special diets trained Cast Member before placing an order.”

“We use reasonable efforts in our sourcing, preparation and handling procedures to avoid the introduction of the named allergens into allergy-friendly menu choices,” the webpage continues.

Attorneys representing Disney and Great Irish Pubs did not immediately respond to HuffPost’s request for comment.

A sign near one of the entrances to Disney Springs is seen May 18, 2020, in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.

According to Piccolo’s lawsuit, the couple had asked their waiter to confirm whether certain menu items could be prepared without dairy or nuts, and the waiter said yes. They reconfirmed several times whether the food that Tangsuan had ordered was free of allergens, and each time, the waiter reassured them that the food was allergen-free, the lawsuit says.

About 45 minutes after her meal, however, while shopping by herself at Planet Hollywood, Tangsuan had a sudden, severe allergic reaction, according to Piccolo’s attorneys. When her mother-in-law tried to reach her by phone, an unidentified person answered and told her that Tangsuan had been taken to the hospital, the lawsuit states.

According to Piccolo’s lawyers, someone at Planet Hollywood had called 911 after Tangsuan had administered her EpiPen and collapsed to the floor, struggling to breathe. The lawsuit says Piccolo and his mother rushed to the hospital, only to find that Tangsuan had died. A medical examiner later determined that her cause of death was anaphylaxis due to elevated levels of dairy and nuts in her system, according to the lawsuit.

In February, Piccolo filed a wrongful death lawsuit seeking more than $50,000 in damages and requested that the case be heard by a jury.

Disney responded three months later, claiming that Piccolo, as a Disney+ subscriber, had agreed to terms of use binding him to an arbitration clause. The company said that anyone who signs up for Disney+ or ESPN+ agrees to terms that specify they will use arbitration to resolve “all disputes.”

Disney said Piccolo agreed to similar language when purchasing Disney World tickets online through My Disney in September 2023 and that “whether Piccolo actually reviewed the Disney Terms is also immaterial.”

In response to Disney’s motion, Piccolo’s attorneys argued that the arbitration agreements were “buried within certain terms and conditions” and called the company’s claim that Piccolo was “somehow bound” to those terms in a matter involving his wife’s estate — which did not exist at the time he signed the agreements because she was still alive — “preposterous.”

“There is simply no reading of the Disney+ Subscriber Agreement which would support the notion that Mr. Piccolo agreed to arbitrate claims arising from injuries sustained by his wife at a restaurant located on premises owned by a Disney theme park or resort which ultimately led to her death,” Piccolo’s attorneys wrote.

Piccolo’s attorneys added that Disney’s arbitration agreement could pose a threat to the nearly 150 million other Disney+ subscribers who might pursue a lawsuit unrelated to the streaming service.