Disney Uses Streaming Terms to Block Wrongful Death Lawsuit

As a widower sues Disney over his wife’s death at Walt Disney World Resorts, the company is using Disney+’s streaming terms to try to block the lawsuit.

In a recent filing, Disney lawyers asked that Jeffrey Piccolo’s $50,000 lawsuit be dismissed and settled out of court after they alleged his wife, Dr. Kanokporn Tangsuwan, died of an allergic reaction at the Raglan Road Irish Pub at the resort in Florida in October 2023.

They alleged that by signing up for a 30-day free trial of Disney+ in 2019, and again when purchasing theme park tickets in 2023 through his Disney+ account, Piccolo agreed to the streaming service’s terms, which include settling “all disputes” with “The Walt Disney Company or its affiliates” out of court through arbitration.

“We are deeply saddened by the family’s loss and understand their grief,” Disney’s lawyers said in a joint statement. The Guardian“Because this restaurant is not owned or operated by Disney, we are only defending ourselves against the plaintiff’s attorney’s attempt to include us in his lawsuit against the restaurant.”

Piccolo’s lawyers said the argument “bordered on the surreal” in response, adding: “The idea that the terms a consumer agreed to when creating a free trial account for Disney+ would forever bar that consumer’s right to a jury trial in any dispute with any Disney subsidiary or affiliate is so unreasonable and unfair as to shock the judicial conscience, that this court should not enforce such an agreement.”

“In fact, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts is explicitly seeking to prevent its 150 million Disney+ subscribers from suing any wrongful death lawsuit against it before a jury even if the facts of the case have nothing to do with Disney+.”