Disney attorneys have seemingly hit another low point. This time, they are reportedly trying to argue that the fine print on Disney+ means that a wrongful death lawsuit should not go to court and should instead be handled in arbitration.
Last October, a doctor visiting Disney Springs with her husband and mother-in-law passed away after an allergic reaction. Her family is attributing her reaction to the food she ate at Raglan Road in Disney Springs.
According to reports, Dr. Kanokporn Tangsuan, 42, told their server about her nut and dairy allergies and was assured that she could be accommodated with allergy-free food. When they got their plates, the allergy-free flags were not there, and they once again inquired about the safety of the dish. After being reassured that the food was correct, she ate it and later suffered a severe allergic reaction that led to her death.
While Raglan Road is not owned by Disney, it is located in Disney Springs at the Walt Disney World Resort. The victim’s family is suing both Disney and the Raglan Road owners. Disney is being included due to the “representations” about the restaurant on the Walt Disney World website and their “allergen-free” offerings.
According to Florida Politics, Disney is now trying to use the terms of service from Disney+ and possibly the My Disney Experience App, where the husband’s tickets were linked, to waive the plaintiff’s rights to a court trial.
In the filing by Disney’s attorneys regarding forcing arbitration instead of a court case, they said that the husband created a Disney account and, in doing so, agreed to Disney’s Terms of Service (TOS) for arbitration.
These terms “… require him to arbitrate “all disputes” against “The Walt Disney Company or its affiliates” arising “in contract, tort, warranty, statute, regulation, or other legal or equitable basis.”
Here is what Disney is arguing to “compel arbitration.”
“Before Piccolo relied upon any “representations” or dined at Raglan Road, he created a Disney account…In doing so, he agreed to the Disney Terms1 which include a binding arbitration clause applying to “all disputes” including those involving “The Walt Disney Company or its affiliates” …That clause is governed by the FAA… Because Piccolo agreed to the Disney Terms, WDPR has moved to compel arbitration.”
They further claim that this litigation wastes judicial resources and generates “needless expenses.”
His wife is dead.
In a statement, the plaintiff’s attorney, Brian Denney, said, “Disney is attempting to rob my client of his right to a jury trial, in part, because he signed up for a trial period on the Disney+ app several years ago, which expired. We are in the process of preparing a legal and factual response to this novel motion and will fight it vigorously.”
Disney didn’t care too much about “wasting judicial resources” or “needless expenses” when it sued several politicians in Florida and the new special district because their attempt to undermine the new governing body failed. But I digress.
The bigger story here is that Disney’s attorneys do seem to think that if anyone agrees to use a Disney product that requires a TOS agreement, they should not be allowed to pursue legal action even if they have grounds to do so. Instead, they must play by Disney’s rules for their own arbitration.
It’s a scary thought. Using Disney+ and later getting injured could mean you could not pursue Disney legally for something unrelated to a streaming service sign-up. Do we need to watch a Marvel show, Pixar film, or Star Wars show that badly?
Who would agree to TOS for a streaming service that eliminates their rights to trial for incidents unrelated to that service?
A lot of us unwittingly did.
If you use any Disney-owned product, they insist you agree to these terms. Even if you “browse” they state that you agree to these rules.
If you have ever used a Disney product or service, been to the parks, or just browsed one of their websites, you must submit to Disney’s arbitration rules.
Seems like a massive overreach to me.
What do you think? Comment and let us know!
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