Disney angered its fans by using the terms of Disney+ to fend off a lawsuit. Could it happen again?

Although Disney dropped a controversial legal strategy The plaintiff's attorney raises concerns that the arbitration clause will continue to apply to the millions of people who subscribe to Disney+ and visit the theme parks.

“Although Disney has withdrawn its motion, the arbitration clauses they relied on in their motion continue to exist on their various platforms,” said attorney Brian Denney said in a statement this week. “This potentially puts other people harmed by Disney's negligence at risk of a similar lawsuit.”

New York tourist Jeffrey Piccolo sued Disney and Raglan Road Pub and Irish Restaurant in February after his wife died of severe food allergies following their meal at Disney Springs last year. Kanokporn Tangsuana 42-year-old physician, inquired several times at the independently owned restaurant whether her food was safe due to her extreme allergies to dairy and nuts. She died on October 5 when she collapsed less than an hour after her meal. The lawsuit states.

Disney's lawyers argued that the wrongful death lawsuit should be stayed and arbitrated without going to a jury as Piccolo had requested because Piccolo signed up for a Disney+ trial and purchased Epcot tickets through an app where Disney's terms and conditions require disputes to be arbitrated.

Disney’s legal strategy “borders on the surreal” and is “absurd”, Denney said in court documents this month.

Disney and Piccolo’s lawyers are scheduled to meet on October 2 to present their arguments before Judge A. James Craner.

In a new twist on Monday, Disney Experiences Chair Josh D’Amaro announced that the company will no longer seek arbitration, allowing the lawsuit to proceed to Orange Circuit Court. The October 2 hearing has been canceled.

“At Disney, we strive to put humanity above all other considerations,” D’Amaro he said in a statement Monday night to explain Disney's about-face. “Under such unique circumstances as this case, we believe this situation requires a sensitive approach to expedite a resolution for the family who have suffered such a painful loss.”

Denney said Piccolo will continue to fight for justice in court after the death of his beloved wife.

Estimated 17.7 million visitors visited the Magic Kingdom alone in 2023 – the No. 1 theme park in the world, according to an industry report.

Most people's vacations are uneventful – sun, crowds, roller coasters, Mickey Mouse sightings, Dole Whips.

However, Disney is sued every year by dozens of people who claim they were injured by a slip and fall or something more serious – like Scooter accidents, injure yourself while driving or a unusual event.

“How many times will they try this?” asked the Miami lawyer Aaron Davis of Davis Goldman that the company is using its Disney+ terms and conditions to fend off lawsuits against theme parks.”What's stopping Disney from trying this again with the next Disney+ subscriber who enters Epcot? Do you know how many people are in that boat?”

Piccolo's lawsuit appears to be the first time Disney has used its terms and conditions to defend against a lawsuit from Disney World since Disney+ launched in November 2019. Disney declined to comment for this article.

Davis was not involved in this lawsuit but spoke to Florida Politics because he handles personal injury and wrongful death cases, often focusing on corporate abuses of power.

Davis believes Disney only gave up the arbitration dispute after the company lost in the court of public opinion. Florida Politics broke the story in July, and other media outlets, such as the New York Times and TMZ, also covered it. Some Disney fans said they were shocked by the mouse's argument in court.

A Disney spokesperson said the company was only defending itself from the lawsuit also filed against Raglan Road.

“The value of a positive public opinion of you is much greater than the value of what you accomplished by enforcing an arbitration clause,” Davis said. “They had a lot of highly paid lawyers and in-house counsel looking at the prospects of success for this lawsuit. And I think the likelihood probably decreased significantly when the public was outraged at what they were trying to do.”

Would Disney have been successful in court if the October 2 hearing had taken place as planned?

“I don't think a judge would have granted the motion to compel arbitration, but it could have happened. It's possible. The plaintiff's lawyers would have argued that using the consumer agreement to compel arbitration was substantively and procedurally unreasonable,” said the California-based Entertainment Lawyer Camron Dowlatshahi from Mills Sadat Dowlat LLP he said in a statement to Florida Politics.

“But the plaintiffs' lawyers could not argue that the consumer did not read the contract. Even though consumers often do not read these contracts, this argument does not hold up in court.”

Had Disney lost in court—which Davis said was entirely possible, especially after the negative publicity that “led to it”—it could have set a precedent for future litigation against Disney.

“They probably said to themselves, 'You know what? Let this die down and we'll wait to fight another day,'” Davis said.

Disney benefits from hearing lawsuits before an arbitrator – most likely an experienced lawyer or judge – rather than a jury of Piccolo colleagues who could be influenced by the emotional facts of the case, Davis said.

Tangsuan died alone in the hospital because she went shopping alone and collapsed at Disney Springs, far from her husband and mother-in-law. Arbitration would save Disney damages and legal costs and would provide more privacy than a civil trial in public, Davis said.

Piccolo's lawsuit comes at a time when Florida lawmakers are passing laws that favor insurance companies and corporations, making it more difficult to sue, Davis added. The Florida governor said: Ron DeSantis argues Reforms are necessary to protect companies from frivolous lawsuits and litigation lawyers.

Disney is “trying to ride that wave,” Davis said.

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