Orlando, Fla. (August 21, 2024) – After sparking rage in court filings, Disney has reversed their initial stance of refusing to go to court due to the fine print in a widower’s Disney+ streaming service subscription.
Disney said in a statement Tuesday that, given the sensitivity of the case, “we’ve decided to waive our right to arbitration and have the matter proceed in court.”
While eating at a Disney Springs restaurant in Florida, New York University doctor Kanokporn Tangsuan, 42, died on October 5 after suffering a fatal allergic reaction known as “anaphylaxis,” Forbes reported.
An autopsy cited in the complaint showed elevated levels of dairy and nut in her system. Despite repeatedly stressing to waitstaff that she suffered from severe nut and dairy allergies before ordering, and being injected with an epi-pen immediately after collapsing, she later died at the hospital. Her death was ruled an accident.
Disney, however, fired back and claiming a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family should be thrown out because Tangsuan’s husband, Jeffery Piccolo, had agreed to arbitrate all disputes with the company when he signed up for a one-month Disney+ trial in 2019 and when he bought park tickets in 2023, court papers said.
But Piccolo’s lawyers quickly slammed Disney’s “preposterous” motion as “outrageously unreasonable” — and argued it was “fatally flawed,” reported New York Post.
In a statement sent to CNN on Monday, Josh D’Amaro, the chairman of Disney Experiences, said the company was waiving its right to arbitration.
“At Disney, we strive to put humanity above all other considerations. With such unique circumstances as the ones in this case, we believe this situation warrants a sensitive approach to expedite a resolution for the family who have experienced such a painful loss,” D’Amaro said in the statement.
Piccolo is seeking damages pursuant to Florida’s Wrongful Death Act, as well as damages for mental pain and suffering, loss of companionship and protection, loss of income and medical and funeral expenses, CNN stated.
