Woman dies after allergic reaction to Disney World meal; Company says ‘husband cannot sue because…’

Signing up for a Disney+ subscription may automatically mean that users have signed away their right to ever sue the entertainment giant. The argument was recently presented to a Florida court following a wrongful death lawsuit by a Disney customer. A missive from the company contends that the case filed by a 42-year-old New York doctor would have to be settled out of court as he had made use of a free Disney+ subscription in 2019. 

“The Terms of Use, which were provided with the Subscriber Agreement, include a binding arbitration clause. The first page of the Subscriber Agreement states, in all capital letters, that any dispute between You and Us, Except for Small Claims, is subject to a class action waiver and must be resolved by individual binding arbitration,” the company wrote in its motion.

Jeffrey Piccolo had filed the lawsuit against Disney after his wife suffered a severe allergic reaction and passed away in 2023. He accused the Disney World restaurant in Florida of failing to pay heed to her severe allergies to dairy and nuts — despite being told repeatedly — when the two ate at the Irish pub in October.

The company argues that Piccolo had agreed to settle any lawsuits through arbitration process when he signed up for a one-month trial of Disney and acknowledged that he had reviewed the fine print. Meanwhile a lawyer for the doctor has dubbed the assertion ‘absurd’ and wondered if 150 million Disney subscribers had so far waived all rights to sue the company and its affiliates in perpetuity — even if their case has nothing to do with the popular streaming service.

“The notion that terms agreed to by a consumer when creating a Disney free trial account would forever bar that consumer’s right to a jury trial in any dispute with any Disney affiliate or subsidiary, is so outrageously unreasonable and unfair as to shock the judicial conscience, and this court should not enforce such an agreement,” his attorney wrote in a filing. 

(With inputs from agencies)