The company’s lawyers have argued that a subscription to a one-month free trial of Disney+ is the reason a man cannot sue after his wife had an allergic reaction and died after eating at a Disney World resort in Florida. Disney said the man waived his right to take action against the company when he agreed to Disney+’s terms and conditions during a free trial of the streaming service several years ago.
Jeffrey Piccolo filed a “wrongful death” lawsuit against Disney following the death of his wife, Kanokporn Tangsuan, a New York doctor, last year. Mr Piccolo claims in his suit that his wife died after suffering an allergic reaction to food served at a resort restaurant in Disney Springs at the Walt Disney World resort in Florida.
Mr Piccolo said his wife had severe allergies to dairy and nuts and the couple had repeatedly asked restaurant waiters about the ingredients in the food they ordered. He said they were assured their meals would be “allergy-free”.
He claimed his wife suffered a “severe acute allergic reaction” after the meal and died later that day.
After an autopsy, her cause of death was determined to be anaphylaxis — an influx of chemicals that can put the body into shock — caused by the high amount of dairy and nuts in her body.
In his lawsuit against Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, he argued that the waiter was negligent and sought damages in excess of $50,000.
Disney, on the other hand, argued that the case should be dismissed and settled out of court because Mr. Piccolo agreed to the company’s terms of use when he signed up for a one-month free trial of Disney+ in 2019 and 2023. Disney says the terms state that users of Disney’s service agree to settle any disputes with the company out of court through arbitration.
“When you create a Disney+ or ESPN+ account, you also agree to The Walt Disney Company’s Terms of Use, which govern your use of other Disney services. The Services include sites, software, applications, content, products and services, including the Disney Parks and Resorts website,” it said.
Disney has argued that these Terms of Use include a clause that applies to “all disputes” involving “the Walt Disney Company or its affiliates,” of which Walt Disney Parks and Resorts is a part.
